Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

Today on my lunch hour I finished reading "Destiny of the Republic" by Candice Millard, a non-fiction account of the assassination of President Garfield. Personally, I think Millard made it read a little too "pop history" for the subject matter, but she does a great job of letting the modern reader get to know Garfield. He sounds like a great man by any definition : the poor child who grew up without a father but scrapped his way to college degree; who led Union forces to victory in Kentucky during the Civil War; who not only didn't campaign for the Presidential nomination, he tried to refuse it; the man whose views on racial equality would be impressive in 1970, much less 1880; and the father who, on the day he was shot, started the day by playing on all fours w/ his children. His death was a waste of goodness and potential, and the method of his death (rotting away for 80 days as infection literally consumed his body from inside) is horrific. RIP. Grade: A-/B+

The Man from Primrose Lane by James Renner

I was eager to read "The Man from Primrose Lane", so eager, in fact, that I read it in a single day. I loved the first 3/4ths of the book, which was a compelling blend of mystery and thriller with a subtle thread of sci-fi sneaking around in the shadows. And then . . . ah, and then. Then the book hit a wall and turned 100% into a sci-fi novel, and not a very good one. Essentially it was two different books, pasted together under the same cover. Sadly, I have to give this a C at best.

The Man from Primrose Lane

 I was eager to read "The Man from Primrose Lane", so eager, in fact, that I read it in a single day. I loved the first 3/4ths of the book, which was a compelling blend of mystery and thriller with a subtle thread of sci-fi sneaking around in the shadows. And then . . . ah, and then. Then the book hit a wall and turned 100% into a sci-fi novel, and not a very good one. Essentially it was two different books, pasted together under the same cover. Sadly, I have to give this a C at best

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

Today on my lunch hour I finished reading "Destiny of the Republic" by Candice Millard, a non-fiction account of the assassination of President Garfield. Personally, I think Millard made it read a little too "pop history" for the subject matter, but she does a great job of letting the modern reader get to know Garfield. He sounds like a great man by any definition : the poor child who grew up without a father but scrapped his way to college degree; who led Union forces to victory in Kentucky during the Civil War; who not only didn't campaign for the Presidential nomination, he tried to refuse it; the man whose views on racial equality would be impressive in 1970, much less 1880; and the father who, on the day he was shot, started the day by playing on all fours w/ his children. His death was a waste of goodness and potential, and the method of his death (rotting away for 80 days as infection literally consumed his body from inside) is horrific. RIP. Grade: A-/B+

Dancing Bee

 

Junie

 

 I have a column in tomorrow (Wed's) Journal-Sentinel. Stop by Jsonline to comment or buy a paper. Thanks!

On Michelle Obama

Tonight, after work, while watching the Amazing Race with the kids, a PSA with Michelle Obama came on.

Me: I know you're going to think this is because her last name is Obama, but it's not; I don't see how people think she's so attractive. I mean, not that it matters what she looks like, but I think her face is very sharp and angry looking. I just don't get it.

Lulu: Oh, I know! Me too! But no one ever says it! And you know I don't care if she's a Democrat or whatever, so it's not that. I always thought she looked kinda like a hawk. Like, you know, she's pretttyy, but only if you look real fast. But if you keep looking, she looks mean.

edit from 2022: I wouldn't have posted this now. It just seems a little pointless and mean spirited. Not that I'm not still pointless and mean spirited, but publicly? No...

LuLu and GusGus

 

Mrs God by Peter Straub

I also finished reading Peter Straub's "Mrs. God", a ghost story set in the English countryside. While I 'got' the gist of the book, the last few pages left me scratching my head. Since it's clear the author meant the dénouement to make you gasp with delight, either I missed something or he got it wrong. Since I'm the schmuck that would be forking out the dough, I vote for "he got it wrong". C+/B-

Caligula by Aloys Winterling

I've finished reading "Caligula" by Aloys Winterling, an upcoming bio of the Roman emperor. It argues that, contrary to parochial belief, Caligula was neither insane nor, for that matter, all that wrong in what he did. I tend to agree. Look at his actions objectively in the context of his era, and you'll find an Emperor who was pretty good at what he did (and popular with the masses). It was the aristocracy that he treated with contempt, and of course its the aristocracy who lived to tell the tale of his life. Stylistically, not the greatest, so I rate this only a B+ for history fans.

Hitchers by Will McIntosh

 I've finished reading "Hitchers" by Will McIntosh. It begins with a terrorist attack that kills half a million in Atlanta, but oddly that plays almost no part in the bk; saying it does would be like saying a bk that starts w/ a rainstorm is all about meteorology. Finn is a 30'something on the rise when he becomes possessed by the voice, then the personality, of his gruff, abusive - and quite dead - grandfather. Soon the phenomenon becomes widespread, and Finn must scramble to find a way to close the 'hole' to the afterlife before the dead consume the living. If you can tolerate a brief foray into New-Agey philosophy, it's quite and intelligent novel. A-

Atrocious

The other night I watched the Spanish language film "Atrocious". When a family is brutally murdered in the Spanish countryside, the police (and viewer) examines 37 hours of "found" footage left behind by the victims. It's a ho-hum horror film with a few scares, but you're often left wondering why they don't just drop the camera and run already. Still, the end was a nice (if small) twist. C.

Jack and Jill

It's a travesty that the Academy Awards don't give proper weight to a performance in a comedy. You want proof? Al Pacino in Adam Sandler's "Jack and Jill". He was GREAT, and if it's possible he climbed up a few notches on my 'best of' list. He deserved a supporting actor nomination. BTW, the movie itself was surprisingly funny. Given Pacino's performance, and the LOL's w/ Sandler, I rate it an A.

 

 Junie accidentally spilled a glass of chocolate milk in my shoes the other day. Despite cleaning them, I'm afraid they will forever carry the faint odor of spoiled milk.

A New Cat for Team Slap

Tonight I took the kids to pick out a cat from the Humane Society.

Idiotically, I took them along and so suffered through two plus hours of misery w/ Junie and Smiley, while LuLu was cool and YaYa was very helpful.

The cat we wanted was adopted out. We chose another but he was too eager to flee and would prob drive me nuts worrying about his whereabouts. We settled on a 4yr old male short haired cat named Flock(!) who has lost the sight in one eye due to glaucoma or cataracts (I forget which).

Anyhow, he seems to get along with Angel, which was our main concern, and he's a loving and spry cat. LuLu wanted to change his name to David, but I told her to reserve that for her future son. We may go w/ the name of the cat we originally wanted: Gus-Gus.

All reactio

A Lost Boy in our Yard

Yest evening I came home and found an 18 month old boy playing in the yard, enjoying my kids toys. There are no kids on my block, or across the alley, so we had no idea where he came from. I set out to see if there was a search party out while the kids and Lisa enjoyed his company. After 20 min we called the police. Just before they showed up (10 or 15 min later) the boys Grandma came down the alley calling his name. Apparently she was babysitting and he wandered out of the yard. He must have seen our toys and decided it was as good a rest stop as any. In the end we let the boy take Junie's old pushcar and a toy lawnmower with him.

 Happy 7th (golden) birthday Smiley! May you have 100 more! We love you buddy!

100 Years of Oreo

 Today is the 100th birthday of Oreo cookies. All hail!

Success

 A successful Tiger meeting today, with the kids doing color wheels and magic tricks. I had a third project ready, but we ran out of time - always a good sign.

2 Movies

Two films last night before retiring by 11. 'Beneath the Darkness' a 'thriller' (yawner) starring Dennis Quaid, who seemed to either be off his game or so nauseated by the script he decided to ham it up. We didn't even finish it. Then on to "Shut up Little Man" a documentary about the audio recordings two guys made of their argumentative and violent alcoholics. I don't see the appeal of the tapes, but the documentary was entertaining, if a little prone to reading to much 'art' into the candid vulgarity. B.

Smiley's Birthday!

We just got back from Smiley's 7th birthday party! We held it at LIGHTSPEED, a go-cart and Lazer Tag center that occupies the former Allied Pools building at Coldspring & 27th. It's a brand new business that opened on the 1st, and the kids had a blast. We played two games of LazerTag, had a party room to ourselves, and had a free go-gart ride for Smiley. They need to organize themselves better, but again this is a mere four days after they opened. Lu's already talking about having her bday party there in June. Stop in and take a look.

What Can I Say?

Lisa, on my status update about the exam: I would've hated you if we'd gone to school together. Who refuses to use the book during an open book test? I'd have stolen your lunch money. Seriously, who does that? 

LuLu:  (looking confused): I have

YaYa: Yeah, me too. 

LuLu (bewildered): Uh, if you know the answers, why do you need to look in the book? It just takes longer that way. 

(silence in the car) Lisa, to me: Your kids suck.

Three Movies

3 movie marathon w/ Entourage last night, and I'm afraid they were all mediocre. 

"Dream House" with Daniel Craig: I guessed the big twist a few scenes in, and while it still had a ways to go after the reveal, it was never very special. 

C. "The Thing" - like the first two versions, only with a lot of CGI that ruins the suspense and adds needless gore. 

C. "Hugo" - it was fine, but the story never moved me and the look was too Polar Express. Plus Sasha Cohen sux. B/B-