Inspired by a recent post from Sandra M Gr-ski I just watched "Picnic at Hanging Rock". Afterwards, despite her warnings I looked up the excised final chapter of the source novel to find the "solution". Said solution is best forgotten.
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, June 24, 2014
Sunday, June 22, 2014
A Week at Sea, er, Lake
At Camp Alice Chester dropping YaYa off for a week of yachting on Lake Superior
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Stephanie Kwolek
RIP Stephanie Kwolek, the Polish- American chemist who invented Kevlar. She was 90 years old.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Thanks for the help Lu!
Lu not only climbed up on a ladder and cleaned out our gutters, she waterproofed one too Alas her hands were black with tar that wouldnt wash off until a half hour had passed lol thanks LuLu
The End of the 2013/2014 School Year
Here's a pic of the kids on the first day of classes. You'll recognize this as a traditional shot for the family. Man, they were happy not to have to wear uniforms! LOL
We dropped them off because we needed to help them carry in the many supplies that were required. And because, me being me, I wanted some pics of the first day!
In this next shot you can (barely) see Lu , near the back in the white shirt and black vest.
Lisa left the school that morning very upset. YaYa had sat in the corner and seemed very anti-social, and it seemed like she had squandered a perfect opportunity to start over.
Boy were we wrong! She made friends instantly and has blossomed over the last nine months into a social - if occasionally grumpy - preteen. I don't think that would have happened at her old school. She even had her first boyfriend!
Smiley was blessed with a great teacher, Mr. Byrnes, who believed in and inspired my boy.
LuLu, like all the kids, struggled slightly at first academically (so much for that high falutin' private school) but by the end of the year notched grades that were above her grade level in English! Socially, she never had a problem. Oh, and she loved having dyed hair at school.
Junie started off the year rough academically, and couldn't read a lick. By the end of the year, under the tutelage of a great teacher (Mrs. Eisemann) she was occasionally reading a 3rd grade level and had changed her allegiance to her new school, proudly announcing she liked it better because "I like learning and I learn there".
Here we are picking them up after school. Looking back I can see they all lost a few pounds during their daily walks to and from school, yet another benefit of the change.
Good decision Lisa!
Monday, June 16, 2014
RIP Tony Gwynn
I was just startled - and I mean that literally - by the news that eight time NL batting champion and Padres legend Tony Gwynn died today of salivary gland cancer. He was only 54.
What a loss, to MLB, to the fans, and most of all to his family (I used to enjoy watching his son play in the Brewers organization in the mid-aughts)
What a loss, to MLB, to the fans, and most of all to his family (I used to enjoy watching his son play in the Brewers organization in the mid-aughts)
Fun Tony Gwynn fact (courtesy of Fox Sports): He faced soon-to-be Hall of Famer Greg Maddux 107 times. He hit .415 & didn't strike out. Not once.
Wonderful to see that almost every tribute to Tony Gwynn mentions that he was a great hitter, but a "better man". One of the nicest guys to grace the sport. I still can't believe he's gone.
An Old Injury
One day last August I went out to start our lawn mower, only to be met with a nasty surprise. The engine seized and the starter cord flew out of my hands. It broke my left thumb in three places and earned me a run of stitches down its left side. It was nasty to look at and was an awful 1st impression for the first week of law school.
The picture below was taken weeks later, so it had healed up quite a bit. Shortly afterwards the nail fell out, as seen below. It's been nearly a year and the nail is 90% back to normal, although I still have a numbness at the very tip of the thumb. I'm hoping that's not a lifelong problem, but I'm not holding my breath.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
A Father's Day Gift
Me: I was 11# 14oz at birth.
Friend: I know. I can't believe you weren't a C section
Me: Oh, I was, but my Ma coulda handled a regular birth. She was used to my Daddy.
Youv can thank me later Pop. Happy Father's Day!
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Thursday, June 12, 2014
The Sweet Science
For those of you who don't know, I am officially on strike from Major League Baseball this season. I can't tolerate the hypocritical witch hunt that resulted in Alex Rodriguez's suspension, and yes, I feel strongly enough about it to abandon my favorite sport for a year. I don't know who's doing well or who's doing poorly, and I have no idea about the standings. I DO know my hometown Brewers are whupping butt so far, and ain't that just my luck - watch them go all the way in a year I don't pay attention!
Anyway, thank the Lord I have boxing to fill the gap in my heart. I've always liked boxing and periodically binge on it, but my knowledge and fandom has solidified in the last twelve months.
Today I watched the Sonny Liston - Eddie Machen bout from September of 1960, a great exhibition of Liston's prowess that descended into a glorified wrestling match in the final round. I think Liston was a great fighter - albeit one that did throw the famous "phantom punch" fight with Ali, IMO (his first loss to Clay being a frustrating but true defeat) - and radically under-appreciated nowadays. What a jab!
I also watched a nasty 1965 dustup between former champ Floyd Patterson and George Chuvalo. What a great fight to watch, if spoiled a bit by Floyd's awkward attempt at commentary on this '60's rebroadcast.
And for those of you who dismiss the great Larry Holmes as a pretender, or someone who reigned large only because the competition was weak, think again: on the 36th anniversary of the fight I watched his 15 round brawl with the great Ken Norton. Not only was Holmes skilled, he could take a punch and not bat an eye. I like him.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Cream City Swirl
Great fro-yo in the greatest neighborhood in the city. Is at Cream City Swirl! Go there!
Monday, June 9, 2014
Cotto-Martinez
I finally had the chance to watch last week's Cotto-Martinez middleweight championship fight. Great win for Cotto, who put on an intelligent "master class" as he took down the champ. Kudos to Martinez, who lasted nine rounds on two bad knees. The only cruddy part of the fight was having to listen to Larry Merchant call the action. I can't stand Merchant's perpetually cynical, dry and often as*holish commentary.
Alexander Imich
Alexander Imich, the world's oldest man, has died in NYC at the age of 111. He was born in Poland in 1903 and was a retired chemist and parapsychologist. RIP
Sunday, June 8, 2014
That's Why huh?
Well. That would be why you don't cut the grass in open toed sandals, wouldn't it?
(I whacked a toe with the weed eater. Bloodied but undeterred.)
On This Day
On this day 40 years ago, Whovians said farewell to the Third (aka The Best) Doctor and welcomed the Fourth, played by Tom Baker.
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