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!
Smiley came downstairs and wanted to show me a bow he crafted from twine and a metal hanger covered in aluminum foil, and an arrow made from a scrap piece of wood.
I was impressed by the appearance but was just putting on a Daddy-face for the demonstration - but damned if he didn't actually fire that arrow from the bow!
"It works??!" I asked him my jaw hanging open.
"Yeah," he said casually. "I make dem all the time."
We watched "Hitchcock" tonight, a 2012 Anthony Hopkins/Helen Mirren biopic about the making of "Psycho". It was fun and informative, and I'm glad we watched it. Grade: B+
White smoke over the Vatican! A new Pope has been selected (but the name has not been released)
Cardinal Bergoglio of Argentina has been named Pope
Bergoglio, a 76 yr old Jesuit, will apparently take the name of Pope Francis, becoming the first Pontiff to take that name.
First impression? A calm, friendly man more reminiscent of a parish priest than a Pontiff. I like him
ABC News has done a respectful job of reporting on the new Papacy, but boo to their translator for having trouble with the Lord's Prayer lol
We watched "Hitchcock" tonight, a 2012 Anthony Hopkins/Helen Mirren biopic about the making of "Psycho". It was fun and informative, and I'm glad we watched it. Grade: B+
A guy came to the door with a slip of paper claiming to think this was a property for rent from a "Mr. Reynolds". When Lisa answered and told him he was mistaken he went next door, then returned and asked her for directions, then wanted to know if she lived alone and if she was married. She tried closing the door and he screamed at her to show him "her titties" and tried to stop the door. I was half asleep two rooms away when I heard this. I yelled and headed for the door and he booked it and drove off by the time I got down the front stairs. F'ing NASCAR getaway. Middle of the f-ing day. WTF?????? Black male, early thirties, 5'11, 220#, black knit cap and scraggly beard
A guy came to the door with a slip of paper claiming to think this was a property for rent from a "Mr. Reynolds". When Lisa answered and told him he was mistaken he went next door, then returned and asked her for directions, then wanted to know if she lived alone and if she was married. She tried closing the door and he screamed at her to show him "her titties" and tried to stop the door. I was half asleep two rooms away when I heard this. I yelled and headed for the door and he booked it and drove off by the time I got down the front stairs. F'ing NASCAR getaway. Middle of the fucking day. WTF?????? Black male, early thirties, 5'11, 220#, black knit cap and scraggly beard.
Today a treat: Lisa joined me in walking the kids home from school today, which the kids loved. The walk went smooth until until a block from home when Junie inexplicably darted into the road and came within three feet of being hit by a car. Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln reports the play went well.
I'm more than a 100 pages into the first volume of Harry Truman's memoirs, and so far I'm not impressed. To date, he seems woefully miscast in the Oval Office, full of blind hero worship of FDR and insistent on the status quo at a time when the situation in the field was changing by the hour. The worst thing, IMO, is that even at the time of the writing (1955) he seems perfectly content with first being briefed about the atom bomb thirteen days (!) after assuming the Presidency. I also have difficulty liking a guy who calls the Foiles Bergere "disgusting". It's early, and there's much of history and memoir to digest, but my whatever the outcome on the job he did I have a feeling I wouldn't have liked him very much in everyday life.
edit from 2022: I actually remember liking the two volume memoir, even if I thought his politics were bunky. It must have picked up the pace a bit after this post LOL
The lil' ones are watching Wizard of Oz for the first time, and after some annoyance at the sepia scenes they were spellbound by the cyclone. Then, when Dorothy opened the front door and saw Oz for the first time, Junie broke out into a huge, heartfelt grin and said: "Cooooool". Well done Victor Fleming, well done sir.
On a recent snow day we braved the snow and took the kids out to eat. Afterwards I stopped at a nearby bookstore to browse. To keep the kids happy during that time I gave them each a buck to spend at the Dollar store with Lisa.
Fifteen minutes later I collected the family. To my chagrin Smiley had spent his dollar on an elaborate Chinese folding fan decked out in black laquer and gold accents. Not only did he buy it, he was zealously protective of it, cradling it in the car on the way home.
" What the -," I asked Lisa.
"I know," she said,"I kept trying to talk him out of it but he wouldn't even consider something else. Just let it go, it's only a fan."
Yeah, a very girly fan. But she was right, it didn't matter, and we went on with our day. Later Smiley came up to me in the kitchen beaming with pride.
"Dad,wanna see what I got?" he asked.
"Sure," I said with a measure of reluctance.
He took out the fan, opened it, and promptly whipped it at one of his sisters.
"I bought a boomerang!" he said.
I burst out laughing.
Happy Birthday to my gorgeous brown eyed other man....lol...Happy 8th birthday buddy/p diddy/lil man!!! I should apologize now to your future wife, cause no ones gonna be good enough for my boy, lol!!! - Lisa
Given current events, I just finished reading "Selecting the Pope: Uncovering the Mysteries of Papal Elections" by Greg Tobin. I found the portions of the book related to the actual selection process fascinating, but too much of the book is taken up by a shorthand history of the papacy and Tobin's own {liberal Catholic} opinions on where the Church is headed.
Hugo Chavez is dead at 58. The news is 58 years too late for the good of the Western Hemisphere, but I'll take it anyway.
