Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Very highly recommeded. For three hundred years a small town has been haunted. A ghost walks the street in plain sight, and anyone who takes up residence is bound to her curse and to the town - they may leave, but stay gone for too long and suicide is inevitable. What happens next - Mein Gott. What a twisted, downward spiral of terror and emotional anguish. A GREAT example of literary horror (think Peter Straub at his peak), with the only negative being a clunky first chapter. Wow.

The Super Reader Progam

I took the Youngin's to get some books and register for the Super Reader program at the library this evening.

Summer School

My "summer vacation" ended today as classes resumed. This is the first time I've ever repeated a professor. I like him, but his Socratic method revealed a disturbing mindset among my classmates. All but one argued strongly for ruling against a litigant based on his political beliefs, a position one guy maintained even after admitting he'd excuse those verbatim beliefs if they were espoused by a minority. Not only is that un-American and legislating from the bench, it's hypocritical and morally wrong.

Look Who's Back

A defeated Adolf Hitler mysteriously awakens in modern Berlin, and catches the eye of a freelance filmmaker who takes him across the nation ala Borat. As he engages with real life Germans you laugh out loud, but you also see the echo of 1933 in the way these normal folk agree with Hitler's worldview. It's made all the more powerful a warning because Hitler isn't portrayed as a buffoon, but as the intelligent, persuasive, and mad man he was real life. German with English subtitles. H/t to grace for the recommendation.

Custard visits the window!

The elusive one-eyed Custard continues to become more social. She not only came downstairs, she's actually sitting in the window!

Help us find Angelcakes

Our all white cat Angelcakes is missing, although she may be hiding in the house if you see her in bay view, please let me know 

UPDATE: Angelcakes has been found, sauntering into the kitchen from God knows where and then reacting with disdain when we showered her with affection.

The Dance Studio Sleep Over

Last night the three youngest spent the night at a lock-in at their dance studio. They had pizza, danced, watched the Blu-ray of their recital, and had a blast.

YaYa and I hit the gym earlier this evening. I forgot my card and they waved me in on sight. Which means either I've gone often enough to be recognized or they're just very lax employees.

A Dream

I took a nap and dreamt that I woke up in the St Francis ER, with no idea how I got there. The nurse said I'd driven there at noon and then passed out. She said my hip was horribly infected, hence all the pain, and that they'd reopened the surgical scar to drain it. When I came home, we were living on Arthur Ave and drove past Lisa on a scooter. She ignored me. When I walked in one of the kids said GusGus ran away and Lisa was out looking for him. What a swell dream. Not.

The MHSA Health Fair

This morning was the health fair at MHSA. YaYa, as you know, helped run the testicular cancer booth. She gave away purple ribbons for awareness, and she and Junie (!) constructed testicles from balloons, corn starch, and a hard pea. Fairgoers then tried to identify the pea by touch as if they were diagnosing a cancerous lump. A HUGE turnout, and we won a tomato and a kohlrabi plant at a anti-GMO booth. Good job Gracie!

My Tombstone

Three options for my tombstone: 

1. My f'ing hip 

2. Shut up Grace 

3. Patriarch of Team Slap 

Any of the three will do.

New Facebook Emoji's

I'm OK with the response emojis that Facebook introduced, but I'm not OK with the "sad" emoji. Instead of just looking glum, it's crying. I'm not going to use that; I'm bummed you posted that your gerbil died, but I'm not a f'ing p***y.

One of Lisa's Favorite Pictures

March of 2005

YaYa, photographed in her March 2005 school bulletin at St Catherine's #adorable

For Realz

I'm not saying y'all's FB pages are dull or one-note, but I'm jealous you get to look forward to my posts and I don't. #ModestyIsDishonesty

I've got a beef with Marquette

Just blew too much of my paycheck picking up the books for my classes (this was at 5pm). Sadly, the clerk was moderately rude to Junie because she dared (gasp!) play with a pen on the counter. Nevermind that in addition to the cost of the books I was buying that little girl a Marquette t-shirt, so f the pen.. I felt like buying it just so LK could break it in half and leave it on the counter.

The Gay Spot

A 1952 postcard of The Gay Spot, a restaurant on 14th and Arthur where both my Grandparent's worked. It's also, IIRC, the scene of the only fistfight my Little Grandpa had during their marriage. Someone insulted his father, and Grandpa threw a punch in his defense.

20 years ago today

Twenty years ago today we lost Jon Pertwee, the 3rd (and best) Doctor. #DrWho

Enough

ISIS just killed 25 prisoners in Mosul (Iraq) by lowering them each into a vat of acid. The barbarity of these people continues to astound. History will judge us for how long we tolerated their presence on this earth. They need to be wiped out, and *yesterday*.

Truth from Calvin and Hobbes

Me and my Lu

 

Say What?

Lisa: "Dan, I know you very well and for a long time, and no matter who you vote for it won't necessarily change how I feel about you."

 *Necessarily*???

Food for Thought

Tom Robinson says hello

JK for the win

JK takes on the bullies on the Left

The Revenant

I loved this movie. Beautifully filmed, for one thing, with stellar performances from both Thomas Hardy and Leo. Someone on FB once said DiCaprio's performance was nothing more than two hours of grunting. Having now seen the film, I might have to rank that as one of the silliest comments in social media history.