ISO

 I am in dire (but temporary) need of a converter tape for camcorder tapes - you know, the kind of converter box that looks like a vhs tape.

The Run of HIs Life by Jeffrey Toobin

 I finished this tonight. It's far less even-handed than the TV series based on it, and perhaps deservedly so given the evidence. Toobin has had several ethics problems in his life and career, so I took some of his declarations with a grain of salt. Time has also eroded some of his conclusions (Kris Jenner, then unknown, is painted as a weak and victimized woman). Still a thorough and entertaining book

At the Gym

On the treadmills with LuLu

The OJ Simpson Trial

I checked out nine (yes, nine) books from the law library about the OJ Simpson trial. I've dismissed Darden's off the bat, as he writes like a petulant loser, referring to the defense lawyers by mocking nicknames and trying his best to excuse his sorry performance. Bugliosi's is good, if a tad racially dated ("a cool Black cat " is his description of one African-American). Toobin's, on which the current TV show is based, is very readable but also very biased against Simpson, and certainly not objective reporting.

Pat Conroy

RIP author Pat Conroy

1964 Redux

So Romney has cast himself as Nelson Rockerfeller to Trump's Barry Goldwater. It's 1964 all over again.

Wedding Bells

A few weeks ago the clerk at our local gas station traveled to Pakistan to marry - and be introduced to - his bride. As we've talked to him him daily for years, #TeamSlap bought the couple a greeting card for the wedding. 

"No offense, but it's awfully hard to find a card for an arranged wedding. It's not exactly a big seller at Walgreens," I told his friend.

Times Change

With some of my fantasy football winnings I bought software to convert VHS tapes to digital files. It required a VCR, but all of ours in storage were kaput. I put one of them by the back door. 

Me: "Junie! Throw out the VCR,  I told you to take that out to the garbage an hour ago."

Junie: "I don't know what you mean."

Me: "You heard me little girl. You know *exactly* what I mean."

Junie: "No, I don't! What's a VCR?!"

#stunned

Where'd she get that mouth?

LuLu:  Do you NEED something?

Me: Yeah, a respectful daughter.

Lulu: Huh. Shouldn't have stopped having kids then. Maybe you would have got one.

#ProbablyNot

 

 Thank you Junie for filling out #TeamSlap's monthly calendar

Sicario

 GREAT movie

Yup

 

A Busy, Busy Day

I spent the afternoon in back to back speech IEP's for Smiley and Junie Got a little contentious during one of them, but we're sick of their progress being sugarcoated. I think the plan that resulted will help. (don't ask for details, if I was going to share I would have  put it here).

 Now grade school conferences, followed by YaYa's high school conferences, dance class, Marquette, work . . . at least I didn't have to shovel though LOL 

update: 

Elementary conference results: Junie "never has a bad day" and is always cheerful, and tests at near a sixth grade level in reading. Smiley is a strong writer who tests above the 90th percentile in math. LuLu, practicing to be a teenager, refused to answer my questions about how she did, and I'll have to get the answers from Lisa later. But she did well enough for Lisa to reward her with a hardcover at the Book Fair afterwards, so she must have done very well indeed

High school conference results: with four weeks left in the term, YaYa is riding five A's and a B, the latter being in her major (theater), which the instructor wrote off as being because she is bored with the introductory curriculum. Three classes - physics, English, and History - want her in AP next year. The history teacher assigns her extra work "to keep her interested" and the English teacher grades her papers "to a higher standard" and says she's already grooming GC for senior level coursework. Four of the six reported she is a joy to have in their class. As YaYanormally refuses to so much as breathe a word of what she does at school (welcome to life with a teenager), I was floored. Great job!

RE: the conference results. I've been telling you for twenty years, I bred for looks and brains. Gotta have 'em both. LOL

My hip hurts from the (PT approved) workout at the gym. Not bad enough to gimp me, but bad enough so I have a legit excuse not to shovel this mess. I don't know what it's like elsewhere in Milwaukee, but there's a dang blizzard out my front window. Sometimes this block is meteorologically freaky; for all I know it's dry as a bone two blocks over.

iSO

 Does anyone have a working VCR they can loan me? I have software to convert our old home movies to DVD but each of the three VCR's we had laying around are kaput and now in the trash.

 The kids suckered me into getting Subway for dinner because our schedule is so hectic. The bill . . .

"I coulda taken you out for steak for this price," I said, exaggerating a bit.

"Who cares? Subway is better than a steak dinner any day," LuLu responded.

Which is why our society doesn't allow minors to vote.

Super Tuesday 2016

Barring a miracle, it's Trump vs Clinton in November. The GOP effort to stop Trump was too little, too late, and failed to address the anger the "common man" felt towards both Washington and the pc police. Sanders tried to ride that burst of anger from the opposite side of the track, but it looks like Democrats want more than just free stuff and empty promises in exchange for their vote. Huh. Whodathunk it?

I'm torn. Support Trump - and I don't buy *all* the vitriol lobbied against him - or vote my conscience and hope this is another Goldwater debacle that rejuvenates the party. Mein Gott, what an election year.

Super Tuesday results (so far):

CLINTON: AL, AR, GA, TN, TX, VA

SANDERS: VT 

#BernOutInProgress

Congrats to Leo for his Oscar win!

 

On my lunch last night I listened to a copy of Jimmy Carter's inaugural address that I'd downloaded to my phone. Even if you went into it blind of history, you'd have to walk away saying the man was prone to sounding defeatist and less than inspiring, even while talking about freedom and human rights. No oratorical style, and a heavy handed reference to biblical passages. I'd grade this a big 'yawn', with points for his generous nod to Gerald Ford.

Harry Potter

Sorcerer's Stone: 

As Smiley and YaYa are big fans of HP, I finally gave the books a chance. Not bad - far better writing than I feared. I would have ate this up as a kid

Chamber of Secrets:

Read this one too. However, Lisa has told me to kibosh my reading until Smiley completes the series. "Don't be *that* ahole" she said, and good point it is.

The Witch

Largely on the word of Patrick M, I took Lisa to see this film. Regretfully, I was bored out of my mind. Visually it was great and the acting was above par, but I couldn't find a story with a microscope. The only other people in the theater gathered their things and left after an hour. All in all, I wish I had done the same.

Cookie Booth!

 Girl scout cookie booth today 1-4 at pick n save on holt... Come stock up and say hi to miss Lauren and her fellow brownies

Diabetic or on a diet? They'll take care of donating then to a worthy cause for you!

- Lisa

The hip pain disappeared completely for ten minutes. Not even the constant ache of the last thirteen months. To celebrate I broke into a Charleston. Afterwards it hurt again, but #WorthIt.

Fuller House

FINALLY! All the old gang introduced one by one to enjoy the audience sizzle, an NKOTB dance number, and they broke the 4th wall to jab at the Olsen twins! Have mercy!