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!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Elevator
A lil' bit of multi-tasking this evening. I have Netflix streaming within sight in the living room and while I sat here and wrote for the last 90 minutes I watched "Elevator", a thriller about 8 people stuck in an elevator with a suicide bomber. The characters were the usual suspects - a rich guy, a pregnant woman, a reporter, a Jewish comic, and so on - and I could see where a lot of the relationships were heading after a minute or two, but to my chagrin, the movie kept my (divided) attention and was decently riveting. Not bad. Grade: B-
My Thoughts - PBS
IMO, spending $450 million on PBS each year, to duplicate programming found on multiple stations and online, seems like a questionable use of our resources. This isn't 1975, when we had 3 stations and PBS was a breath of fresh air.
Please skip the Big Bird/Elmo line of bull - Sesame Workshop earns a gazillion dollars in marketing and licensing. They don't need our pity, or our tax $ - move to syndication or a private network and they'd do just fine.
And for those who trot out the line that $450 million is chump change for the Feds, well, you're right - but it's that kind of thinking and ready acceptance of it that led to the waste in Washington in the first place.
Ted
I watched "Ted" this morning. It's ridiculous and low-brow, vulgar and devoid of any plot points you haven't seen 1000x before (well, maybe not the teddy bear on cashier sex; that was new). My verdict? Funny as hell. I LOL'd time and again and had tears streaming down my face. I didn't wet my pants laughing, but that's probably just because I'm dehydrated. Grade: A
What Would You Do?
Unpopular
opinion of the day: few shows bother me more than “What Would You Do?” on ABC,
the hidden camera show that professes to reveal how your average person reacts
when exposed to a given situation in a public place. On its surface it’s a
nice, wholesome show that shows plenty of Average Joe’s protecting the weak,
minding the innocent, and doing right by all.
I call foul.
Sometimes
the situations are clear cut, say someone drops their wallet in a shopping
mall, a man is beaten, a woman is verbally assaulted or a child is left seemingly unattended. These are ‘duh’
situations and devoid of ambiguity. Too often, however, there is an agenda at
play. Underneath the benign surface the show is a bully pulpit enforcing the
media’s idea of what’s right – aka, what’s Left – and using the power of
television to force any and all objections to the side. It’s horribly slanted
to portray X as righteous and any objection to X as wrong. Likewise it works to
label anyone with an objection as misguided and ignorant , someone who would only
act and behave ‘better’ if educated by the host John Quiñones
Legitimate
objections? Intellectual disagreements?
A conscience?
“Blech, there’s
no such thing!”, sayeth ABC.
Here’s
the deal. I do think it’s in poor taste for a woman to breast feed her five
year old in the middle of a restaurant. Yup, I do. I do not think illegal
immigrants should be idealized and pitied, any more than I think they should be
demonized and hated. I do not think any couple, regardless of race or gender,
should make out in the booth next to me, unless that booth is situated in a
strip club. I do not think it is any of your damn business if and when a parent
decides to ‘force’ his kid to eat something on their plate, punishes them (without violence) or make them get a
haircut and I question why you are perfectly ok with someone butting in during
those private moments. If someone forces their child to steal from me because
that family is hungry, I will not coddle them and say “that’s OK Bunkie”. If
you had asked, I might have bought you some groceries; I have done so before.
But if you steal and plead hunger, I call foul. Get food stamps. Go to a soup kitchen.
Visit the food pantry. And don’t you dare call me ‘ignorant’ – I’ve had plenty
of rough times, and I know what it’s like to stand in line for government
cheese, thank you kindly.
So in
summary: do not pretend you are the arbiter of good taste or conscience, and
don’t confuse “politically correct” with “correct”. Your show is a sham, and I
do not like it sam I am. I do not.
Here
endeth my rant.
Monday, October 8, 2012
The Avengers
I finally got around to watching "The Avengers" last night. I thought it was a very good movie, strongly written, well acted, and it smoothly merged several film franchises into a single great buddy flick. Plus it had that great quote about the world spinning on, which was worth the rental alone. That said, while I enjoyed it, it left me kind of empty. I was just a spectator until the final battle scene, when I caught myself grinning and even LOL'd once. I don't think that connection should have required two hours of foreplay, but again, I still recognize it was a great superhero flick. Objective grade: A; personal grade: B/B+
Sunday, October 7, 2012
3-2
Even with two players yet to play, I've won my fantasy matchup for the week - against the current (but soon to be dethroned) division champion, and with a 25 pt margin (to date). 3-2 on the year baby!
Plus Theeeeeee Yankees take 1-0 lead over Orioles in the ALDS with a 7-2 victory!.
A So So Day
With Lisa at work i wasted an hour waiting at a hair cutting place, then had to leave (or felt I had to leave) when the kids came home sooner than I expected. There are moments - just moments mind you - when I hate my life.
Update: I've been home with Smiley for a half hour now and just noticed a deep dark shiner on his right eye. (he spent the weekend at Grandma's). He traces the black eye to a dust-up with Lu on Thursday before dance, but if so I can't blame her either; I saw the argument, and the injury was an accident.
Two pics of Junie to lighten the mood:
Saturday, October 6, 2012
YaYa takes a SCUBA course!
Early in
the summer I caught wind of an introductory SCUBA course taught through the
Milwaukee Recreation Department. The age and swim ability requirements limited
it to YaYa alone, and I quickly signed her up.
The class
was offered at a high school on the west side and taught by a guy who had been
a certified instructor since before I was born - literally. It was a three hour
class, and it began with a long recitation of the waiver form, followed by a
quick quiz. Once YaYa passed that (easy peezy lemon sqeezy for my gal) she was
fitted with fins and a tank and sent into the water.
Intitially
there were a lot of problems with her googles, so many that I secretly
questioned if she was just scared and didn't want to do this, but as usual I
was wrong.
It turns out none of the goggles were small enough for the two kids
in the class, and both girls had the same trouble. They worked through it, but
the delay in getting the gear fit meant YaYa and her newfound friend were a
litte behind the rest of the class. This worked out to their benefit, as the
instructor's assitant was assigned to just the two of them, giving them
essentially a semi-private class.
Like
reading, the class was far more exciting to DO than to watch. For me it meant
three hours of reading my Nook and yawning in a humid pool room. For YaYa, it
was three hours of learning and excitement.
By the
end of the class YaYa was spending extended amounts of time swimming along the
pool bottom, and as a result of the class she will be able to go SCUBA diving
with a professional with no additional training beyond a quick 1-2-3 refresher.
It is a
class I will certainly sign the other kids up for when they are old enough, and
I may sign YaYa up for the fulll course if the funds (and time) become
available.
The best moment of the day? When it was over YaYa, who knew I'd been the sole impetus on this activity, offered a sincere 'thank you' and told me it had been fun. Awwww :)
Friday, October 5, 2012
I Won!
Whoo-hoo! This is Customer Service Week at my job, a five day excuse to hold potlucks and play work-related bingo. In a stunning turn of events I won the employee raffle for a 20 quart Oster roasting oven – one large enough to hold a 24# turkey and a beauty that will roast, slow cook, bake AND act as a serving dish! I literally did a happy dance when I heard the news LOL
It was the most coveted prize by far (with the possible exception of “8 hours paid time off”) and I will surely endure some flack from the masses for my victory. No matter. Haters hate, it’s what they do.
Meanwhile, while they’re busy with that, I’m going to make some wicked ribs in my new roaster! Woot woot!
Happy Birthday Kate Winslet!
Happy Birthday to the incomparable Kate Winslet, #1 on my List of Five for 15 years running!
Prometheus, The Westing Game, and 100,000 Miles
Last
night, as Lisa took the kids to dance class, our van passed the 100,000 mile
mark on the odometer. To celebrate, it wouldn’t start on the way home. Luckily,
it appears to have been just the battery. A jump start got Lisa back on the
road, but I do not like the coincidental timing; it seems too much like an omen
for my liking.
*****
Last night I also watched Prometheus, the Ridley Scott prequel to Alien.
It’s a beautifully
filmed movie, and I think Noomi
Rapace does a good
job of anticipating the feminine warrior that comes to fruition in Ripley.
(Kudos also to Michael Fassbender for a magnificent job portraying the android,
David.)
There
were many questions left unanswered by the film, and many relationships that
existed in a vacuum and were never explored – David and his creator, the
creator and his daughter, the frigid captain, the tame affair between the lead
scientists, and so on. In some ways the film seems incomplete and vague.
Personally, I don’t mind the ambiguity regarding the plot points, because in
real life this situation would never lend itself to a tidy and comprehensive
denouement. The relationships? They bother me a lot more. Why bother bringing
them up at all, if they are to serve no purpose?
Overall,
I loved the film. Grade: A
I’ve also
finished reading The Westing Game, the Newberry award winning young adult novel
by Ellen Raskin.
Yes, the Wisconsin setting
was swell. But . . . this book won a Newberry and has been read and beloved for
more than 30 years. I have to ask: WHY? The mystery at the core of the book was
OK, but nothing special, and the writing (if the late Ms. Raskin will forgive
me) is slipshod and devoid of style or skill. I don’t see the charm or the
value of the book, and I’m going to grade it a C.
Book #79
of the year
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Congrats Miggy! (and Mitt!)
and on a far more controversial front than the Mike Trout/Miguel Cabrera MVP saga, congrats to Mitt Romney for trouncing President Obama in their debate last night, a fact acknowledged even by true-blue sites like CNN ("clear winner", "[Obama] took it on the chin" and MSNBC "[Romey] Outduels Obama in Debate", "Romney long on ideas".
I'm old enough to recognize that a great debate performance - even one that outs the competition as out of ideas - isn't enough to clinch a win, and I'd still lay odds on Obama winning a second term. But it was mighty nice to see someone call out the Emperor for having no clothes.
This and That
Just for
posterity: I passed my driver’s license exam at 11:50a.m on 05/07/93 at test
site “MSWI” (Loomis Road) with a total of 9 points deducted off.
Tuesday I made stuffed green peppers for dinner, the first time I've ever prepared it myself. They turned out very well - I seriously, objectively think they were some of the tastiest I've ever had. The kids (minus Ginger) liked 'em too, and Smiley praised my cooking. Yay me.
Yesterday,
while the peppers were cooking, I finished the last of the episodes of Psych
available for streaming through Netflix (seasons 1-5). I adore the show. I
think the characters are well developed and interact flawlessly, the mysteries
are fun and interesting, and I find myself LOL at a lot of the lines. It’s
become such a favorite in the house that I caught the kids sneaking episodes of
it on their Netflix enabled TV when they should have been sleeping! Grade:
A++++++
I’ve also
just finished Season 1 of Monk on Netflix. I’ve seen a few scattered episodes
from later years and this season lacks the humor and ease of those examples,
but that’s to be expected as a series feels its way out of the gate. It hasn’t
caught on in the house – Lisa commented that she believes it both glorifies and
diminishes those with mental illness – but I like it. Grade: B
Tonight I
finished reading “Running out of Time”, a young adult novel by Margaret
Peterson Haddix that Grace polished off a few weeks ago. It’s the story of a
young girl raised in a village in the 1830’s that discovers it is actually 1996
and her family is part of an elaborate historical preserves. When diphtheria
hits the village she alone must flee to the outside world to bring help. Remind
you of The Village? Me too, but this predates the movie and makes a lot more
sense. I liked it – Haddix has a knack for spinning a good yarn. Grade: B
Book# 78 of 2012
Do I like my new job? Hmm. Let me answer the only way an adult with four kids and a mortgage SHOULD answer: It doesn't matter. As long as the paychecks keep trickling in, and so long as there is nothing better knocking down my door, then the answer is "I am happy to have a job, ANY job, in this so-called improving economy".
The Tall Man
Tonight we watched "The Tall Man" a French (English language) horror film/thriller set in Washington state and starring Jessica Biel. The town of Cold Rock is under siege, with 18 children abducted over the last few years. The law is sure that its the work of a local, but the townsfolk themselves believe a spectre called The Tall Man is to blame. Biel's character takes no part in the argument - until her own home is invaded. This is a smart, well done film that handles major plot twists with skill and grace. Well done. Grade: A
Still a Prince
Just as an FYI, if you were weren't paying attention to our friend Prince Fielder, in his first year as a Tiger he notched a .313/30/108 season with 33 doubles, 85 walks and an OBP of .412 while playing all 162 games. Not bad for the fat kid Billy Beane laughed off7.z i n Moneyball.
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