Made of Honor

In Made of Honor Patrick Dempsey plays Tom, a rich Casanova who enjoys a long-term and (surprisingly) platonic relationship with his best friend Hannah, played by Michelle Monaghan. When Hannah returns from a trip to Scotland with a fiance in hand Tom realizes what he's always known - that his feelings for Hannah go far beyond mere friendship. Despite being chosen as her Maid of Honor he sets out to win the woman of his dreams before its too late.

I thought this was a charming movie and an absolute pleasure to watch.

It's a rare treat to see a romantic comedy where the cinematography make you say 'I wish I'd seen it on the big screen' but Made of Honor fits the bill. Grand views of the Scottish countryside are a treat on the eyes, as is the New York presented on screen. It's bright, carefree, and devoid of any trace of despair, a fantasy world where you can not only drive your own car in Manhattan but find a parking spot whenever you like.

Fairy Tale Big Apple aside, the actors bring a sense of honest and complex emotion to their roles. You never get the feeling they are just reciting lines, and at times, watching Dempsey do a fine update of the Carey/Hugh Grant persona you wonder why McDreamy was absent from the screen for so long.

[check out the late great Sydney Pollack in his role as Tom's Dad. He delivers a great line when encouraging his son to pursue Hannah:

Tom: (quoting)If you love something, set it free.

Dad: Said by a pu**y and repeated by pu**ies ever since. Go after her! ]

Drawbacks? I think the Highland Games and picture perfect fiance were a bit over the top, and the finale was certainly a chiched staple of the genre.

But who cares? Easily the best romantic comedy I've seen in awhile.

Panning for Gold at the Cave of the Mounds

After the gift shop the kids and Lisa toured the gardens on the grounds.



Then Lisa wanted the kids to 'pan for gold' outside the cave. I'd seen the - what would be the word? - panning area/sluice on the way in





but I thought it was a stupid waste of time. $5 or $10 for a bag of sand? So they could find one ten cent arrowhead or a rock or two? Fugetabouit.

But Lisa said 'go' and I said 'yes'um' and I'm glad I did.









Those bags turned up a wealth of objects for the kids to find.



I'm not kidding, the discoveries kept coming and coming. Arrowheads, brightly colored stones, bits of fool's gold, you name it. I was a little peeved, to tell the truth. Inside the gift shop I'd spent $5 each for a rock, while here in the panning area they got a handful of stones for roughtly the same price. Woulda/shoulda/coulda listened to Lisa in the first place, but why establish a precedent?











Heck, it was so successful and such a good time that I sprung for an extra round of bags to continue the fun.





On the way home we stopped at the Johnson Creek Outlet Mall, where a half hour venture into the Children's Place store was less than enjoyable. Even so YaYa walked out with a kickin' hat.



Just a great day all around :)

The Future is Now

Ten years from now this will sound like a guy in 1980 awkwardly describing the Internet, but here goes:

On our way out to see the Cave of the Mounds we stopped and ate at a McDonald's. No big deal, right?

Sure. Except the bathrooms (!) featured TV screens that were part of the mirrors. Not a separate built-in, or a TV screen that had a reflective surface. The images appeared to be floating in the mirror itself, Magic Mirror style. HGTV in the ladies room, ESPN in the men's.





I'm telling you, we could have had a flat tire at that point and scrapped the trip and it STILL would have been worth the time.

Wow!

Our Trip to the Cave of the Mounds - August 2008

As a child the one and only time we went on vacation was 1982 or '83, when my Dad won some tickets for Wisconsin Dells from a radio station. We went there on a day trip, ate at a A&W, toured a mock-up of an old fort, and saw Tommy Barlett's water show in the evening. As once-in-a-childhood vacations go a 12 hour in-state trip isn't exactly gay Paree, but I still remember it with a smile.

That summer my folks also took us on a day trip to see The Cave of the Mounds, a 1692 foot long cave located in central Wisconsin. This I remember with great fondness, as I've always fancied myself a bit of a spelunker (were it not for my fear of the dark, close spaces, solitude, and dripping water. I kid, I kid.)

Really tho', I've always had a soft spot for the place and I've talked it up to the kids over the years. So this August the collective we (minus Lump) spent the day on a trip to visit the National Natural Landmark.



The cave, which was discovered accidentally during some quarry work in the Depression, has an entrance/exit that neccessitates you passing through an extensive gift shop.





Tours leave every half hour and there are always more than one group in the cave at a time. We barely made it to the start of our group in time, but I almost wish we'd been tardier. The tour starts with a video presentation on the cave's history and geology, and good luck having three kids sit through that without squirming. When the video was done it was time for the fun to begin.



Obviously a cave is difficult to photograph properly and I didn't have much time to perfect the art, so bear with some of the pictures.




Many areas of the cave are accessible to the public and well lit, with concrete paths and ample elbow room (considering you're in a cave). Not so in some areas.











During some of these tight spaces I marveled at the fact that my Mom was once limber enough to complete the tour. The kids began to get a little claustrophobic, especially LuLu, and I'll forever be grateful to a woman in the party who talked LuLu through one twist and turn with kind words of encouragement.

This is the 'end' of the cave. Not the end of the tour, but of the navigable area of the cavern. Past this point the cave exists but in an unstable condition unsafe for human exploration.



Here's a baby seal made of stone. See it?



The kids sure did.



These next few are of . . . something or another. Sorry, the pictures don't match the brilliance of the cave so it's hard to match them with my memory. Still, I'm pretty sure the first shot is a zoomed picture of a huge fossil that's visible in the roof of the cave. I can't recall its stated age, but I believe it's up there in the three digit millions range.











Here's a stalagmite formation that looks like a parrot. (StalaTITEs hold tight to the ceiling, StalagMITES might get there someday. I remember that from '82, and they rattled it off again on the tour).



You're not allowed to touch anything on the tour, lest you damage or interfere with the natural processes at work. (any photo of a broken formation is due not to man but to an ancient flood. Photos of the cave's initial exploration show the same damage)There is only one well-rubbed formation visitors are allowed to touch.



On the tour they like to take you into a dark area and then turn on the lights, darzzling you with the hidden majesty of the cave.









At the end of the tour there's a little alcove and both Lisa and I couldn't wait to show it to the kids. It was dark, but when the lights turned on an entire Smurf villiage would be revealed. I remember it clearly from my prior visit, as did Lisa.



But sadly (and stupidly) the Federal Government made them remove the 'commercial' display in order to qualify as a landmark. What a crock, and what a wasted opportunity to seal the trip forever in the kids minds.

On the way out we spent a lot of time in the giftshop, and each kid walked away with a fancy stone or two and some Girl Scout patches for the Lu and YaYa, while Lisa and I picked up a black stone elephant to complement the African carvings my Dad handed down to me.

After the giftshop we took part in activites outside, but that's another post.

We all walked out of the cave suitably impressed, and everyone agreed this *can't* be the only time we visit the Cave. We'll cerainly have to bring back Lump when she's older. What a great way for the family to spend a day.

Like Joe Mac says, it's officially ovah

Like the lyric's say, it's officially over.

Yesterday I added the 123 comments from my off-site guest book to the corresponding entries, threw the pictures of the Inauguration on three posts I did in January of '05 . . . and then I sat around looking for something else to do, some reason to stick around and delay leaving my beloved AOL site.

In the end there was nothing, and I realized I was hanging around solely for sentimental reasons. I logged onto Blogger and portered the site over, then spent some time trying to gussy up the site. It's still pretty plain, but I'll work on it.

So that's it. Just like that 3 years, 11 months and a week of blogging is kaput. Sure, I'll carry on and I don't want to make this into more than it is, but AOL was the scrapbook for a HUGE portion of my life. Not chronologically of course, but in terms of pure value.

Looking over my old entries I saw YaYa's first ever day of school, pictures of LuLu as a rambunctious toddler (man, do you forget how they change when you see them everyday!), and shots of Smiley as a baby - in fact, I remember running home from the hospital to post a picture of him the very day he was born.

[Last night I showed him those posts and he argued, in Smiley-speak, that I was wrong. 'Bay-bee!' he said forcibly, time and again. Apparently he believes he was put on this Earth fully formed as a toddler ;)]

There are comments about my Grandma's reactions to posts, and there is the post about her passing away. There are posts about big events like that and small but special things that I'd long forgotten, like LuLu having a rare accident on the floor during her potty-training or stopping for a burger in D.C.

During the four years this blog chronicled our family grew by two children, we bought our own home, I was promoted and left third shift, and most importantly the New Kids on the Block reunited (I kid, I kid - that's no more than the 10th most important item from those years).

Two things I notice from the old posts: I had a consistent and public desire to improve the product that was AOL Journals, dating back to posts of April of '05. Many of the items I groused about led to the insular, niche mentality that doomed these journals, and it's sad to see the writing on the wall even then. Second, while I look more or less the same ol' same ol', my wife looks 10,000 times hotter than she did when we were in the midst of expanding this family. That may sound like a half-assed compliment, but trust me - I thought she was hot then, but I'm a much bigger fan today :)

Anyhow, adios AOL. To paraphrase whoever, we really knew ye.

You can find me now at www.slapinions.blogspot.com

If you typically enter via www.slapinions.net, it will still direct you here until the end of the month, when I'll have it start to point to Blogger.

See you on the flip side and remember - last one out, please turn out the lights.

Goodbye!


Tags: The End

Jonah's Wail

In my haste to transfer material to blogger I almost forgot 'Jonah's Wail' an AOL Journal my nephew kept (briefly) in 2005-2006, when he was eleven years old. He quickly abandoned it for myspace, but I figure I'll preserve his words here for posterity.



* * * * *



Super Bowl
Yea !!!!!!! the Steelers won the Super Bowl, I knew they were going to win the whole time .I went over to my uncles house and watched the game at his house we had a good time.He mentioned it in his blog which you can go to if u click on the link.Well I had a good time all the way until the Half time show,and I know I'm not the only one who thinks it sucked .My aunt made a good point and said "It should entertame kids my age ." And I'm only 11 yrs old. Well I had a good time and I hope you had a good time watching the Super Bowl yesterday (if you care for sports). Bye



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Monday, January 16, 2006
Sk8ting
Hi again, for the past month or so my friends and I have been skting .We have alot of fun we all have speed skates expect one kid but he barely goes....I'm a pretty good skater and I like going fast on skates not slow (expect for when its a slow song)Before I used to go skating like every Friday,and then I stopped going because it got boring.So then like 10 months later my friend convinced me to go and now I go alot.So I guess Its a new start of an old hobbie.Well thats all I have to talk about on this topic so I'll see you people later.

Bye



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B-Ball game
Hi,people on New years Eve I went to a Harlem Globetrotters game,at the Bradely Center.I went with a few kids at school and it was really fun.My friends and I had a good time ,and we just tried to embaress ourselves in the following ways:Yelling out crazy things, trying to start he wave ( it didnt work) and wearing funny things on our arms and head and alot of other stuff. (I'm sure)I have a question for you people......How was your New Years Eve ?,and what did you do ?

Bye !~



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Lack of Posts
Sorry for the lack of posts I've been hanging out with friends and stuff latley so ice been busy





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Thursday, November 10, 2005
Floridia Trip
Hi people,

Ok starting sunday morning I'll be in Florida,the trip is good and bad at the same time.....how you ask well I'll have fun in Flordia but back at school my homework is just gonna be pileing up and up.So I just wanted to tell youso The lack of posts so you do think i quit putting up posts. Ok bye !




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Sunday, October 30, 2005
Happy Halloween !!!
Happy Halloween people,

how was your Halloween ? Halloween is kinda mostly a kids holiday but some adults goo around witha mask r something scaring children or other adults. I like Halloween for a few reasons: 1: Free Candy ! (what kid doesnt like that ) 2:Scaring people and wearing costums,and thats all I can think of at the moment but...you get the idea. Also for thoose who decided to play the game runescape , well heres a little tip .... ok now jagex(creators of the game) on holidays they put like a chacter on the game and they hand out free stuff and tomarrow I think there gonna have the holiday drop .So if you play it u can get the fre item. Well thats all I have to say so i hope you have a good Halloween !

Bye



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Saturday, October 29, 2005
late entry
Hi people,

Im very sorry for not posting any entrys in a while. I've Just started playing a game called runescape. I guess its kinda a kid game but I saw alot of adults who play it.The game is mostly a giant chat room,where u can talk to any one in the world (who plays).well the website is www.runescape.com go to this site to play the game.Ok so if you decide to play it tell me and ill make another post and update you on any new up grades ,or update you on how im doing. Also if you play the game make a comment and I'll talk about it in a post. So again sorry for a delay of posts.

Bye



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Tuesday, August 16, 2005
State Fair
Hi again,

last week i went to the Milwaukee State Fair,I went with my frined and his family we went on like every ride again again and again we had so much fun.The Wisconsin State Fair is best known for it cream puffs,cream puffs are like bake dough with whip cream in the middel.I dont have much more to say about this post so i can say anymore,so

Bye





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Thursday, July 28, 2005
B-Day
Hi people,

On July 20th was my B-day I turned 11,I had my b-day at this place called MegaQuest. The place is so big it has a mini ferris wheel,go karts, tilt-a-whirl,lil rollercoasters,arcade and a 2 gift shops.1 is where you use tickets to by stuff 1 is where you use money buy stuff, at the money giftshop you can by brand name stuffbut it costs alot.Then I had a sleepover at hotel and we had alot of fun.

bye



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shot post
sorry about the delay of post's I've been pretty busy



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6 Flags Great America
Hello,

This weekend I went to 6 Flags in Illinois ,I went for my birthday and went with my Dad,sister ,step-brother,aunt ,and her boyfriend.One day we went to the theme park the second day we went to there new water park ! We had a lot of fun at the theme park and at the water park,but the water park gets really really crowed and its has extremely long lines.But people who like amusment go to 6 Flags Great America!!!!

Bye



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Tuesday, July 12, 2005
special events
Hi people,

Today was the All Star game ,the National League v.s Amercian League {if your not the biggest baseball fan}. I went over to my uncles house and he and I watched the game ,and we also had a bbq before the game so it was like we were at the game but we really weren't.

In Milwaukee W.I we have the worlds biggest music festival called SummerFest.It began Jun. 30 which at like 10:00p.m they had something called the Big Bang, and they set off tons of fireworks.Then it ended on the 10th of July.If you have any events you know of in your state or any where send it in to me and I'll write about.

Bye.

Blogger Progress, Smiley, Runway

I portered over my test blog to blogger today and it went very well. As for Slapinions proper, there is still housekeeping to do before the move. As a 'for instance' I'm adding pics to my posts from my time at the Presidential Inauguration in '05, and I need to move over all the comments from the non-AOL comment site I used for a few years. I could do it post-move, but I'd rather wrap it up nice and tidy in a format I'm used to working in.

* * *

On a personal note I'm eating like SH*T - well, not quite. I haven't had a candy bar in two months and I have avoided pizza in recent weeks, but I've hit the brownies and starches hard. Argh, scratch that. At work (where the problem seems to be the worst) I had pizza the other day, nasty greasy eat-it-with-a-spoon pie :(. I also chowed on ice cream cake today, but we'll explain that later on in our program.

I have, however, kept up the exercise, taking the kids out for bike rides even as the weather grows harsher. Today, for example, I tossed the three youngest in the bike trailer and headed out for a brisk 15 minute ride. Hills that used to stop me now fly by with barely a notice, which is great, and I've grown rather fond of the 'burn' in my calves after a bit. Now I just have to find a good winter activity to keep me at a 'reasonable' size .

* * * *

Great family night. LuLu, who really enjoys helping in the kitchen, helped Lisa make breaded pork chops and scalloped potatoes. We had to pass the pork off as 'chicken' to the kids, even the assistant chef. They tore it up, but tell them it's anything else and they'd go 'ewwww'.

Afterwards the bike ride and some time in the backyard, where Smiley gently scolded Lump by saying 'Bay beee', which floored me. When I asked him to repeat it he couldn't, but it was clear as day.

Later the whole family (minus the sleeping Lump) cuddled on our bed to watch Project Runway. LuLu is a big fashion nut and nearly every morning it's an ordeal to get her dressed because she wants things 'just so', so we knew she'd love Runway.

YaYa and Lisa rooted for Leanne, Lu and I for Kenley. Both girls wanted Jerrell voted off because of his gender and got their wish, but I'd have kicked Kato (sp?) to the curb myself.

[I was proud of Lu for identifying Kato by saying 'the woman with the dark skin' rather than as 'the black girl'. It seems a miniscule point in print, but out loud it was a nice confirmation that, at least as of now, she views color as a secondary or minor trait.]

During the show Smiley sat fidgeting, bored out of his mind. And then again, out of nowhere, he said 'Bay beee', and this time could repeat it on command. Lisa and I gave him a big hug and told him we were proud of him, and you should have seen the grin on that kids face!

A teacher at the girl's school said Smiley would do fine there next year. I'd have bought the argument if she hadn't gone ahead and said she'd had 'lot's of kids that didn't talk at the start of the year' but wound up jibber-jabbering by spring. I like the woman and she's a fine teacher, but I'm about up to my neck in yahoos writing off his problem as 'something that'll just go away' or that came about because we don't 'make' him talk.

My vote - and Lisa and I differ here - is that he stays where he is, not only because they know him and his needs, but because the girl's school is at times a vain place, and I won't have my son singled out as an 'oddity' by anyone.

We'll see.

NKOTB at the Allstate Arena 10/4/08 - Part I

You know the hardest part of arranging the trip to see NKOTB in Chicago wasn't finding a hotel, paying for the tickets, or finding a babysitter; it was deciding who we'd ask to use the third ticket that Jolene had forfeited.

We asked my nephew, but he had a date for homecoming. Our niece KayKay briskly turned down what would have been her first ever concert, unquestionably out of the inherent anxiety/fear that runs through my gene pool. Her claim that she didn't like them was absurd, since she's even used NKOTB for a music class project. Whatever.

We thought about YaYa but weren't confident she'd keep her cool. So in the end we decided to give the ticket to our friend Chris. Saturday morning we did the standard routine with swim class, dropped the kids off, picked up Chris and headed for Chi-town.

We got to our hotel and I went in to check-in. The lobby was already filled with New Kids fans, mainly young women with an assortment of homemade and official shirts declaring their love for one or all of the group. There was a married couple checking in at the same time, and they were attending the concert, so at the very least I knew going into it I wouldn't be the only guy at the show.

The three of us headed down to Chili's for dinner but it was packed to the rafters with New Kids fans, none of whom were probably older than ten when the band broke up. One shirt read 'MILF', and another 'I'm Legal Now', so there was little doubt what they hoped the guys would be doing after the gig. We headed out for a neighboring restaurant, then picked up some booze and headed back to our room to get ready.

Man I hate pictures of myself. They just sooooo fail to capture the rugged glory of my features.

[overheard in the liquor store: a cell phone call where the guy in front of me was ridiculing his friend for not coming to the concert with him. "You screwed up man, there are THOUSANDS of chicks here and every one of 'ems gonna leave that arena dying for a man . ."]

When the time came we walked to the Allstate Arena, a five minute stroll down the road.

We got there plenty early and spent a good half hour walking around trying to get to the front of the already crowded merchandise stands. I had more success than Lisa and Chris - a man of my size typically doesn't make a beeline for the pink baby-doll 'Click Click Click' shirts - but the one item we had our eyes on was sold out in everything above 'medium'. It was a black hoodie with NKOTB across the back shoulders and the number 08 below it - $75 I think.

Anyhow, Lisa and Chris got some more drinks while I went to the restroom. As you can imagine the men's room was rather deserted while the ladies room line stretched on forever. As I was standing at the urinal doing my business a group of women, sick of waiting, came in and walked right past me. "Hi," one said. "Hello," I said. It was he first and only time in my life I've thought a companion in a men's room was hot (minus that time at band camp of course).

Later I brought this up to a security guard I was chatting with and he promised swift retribution. "Why?" I said laughing. "For a second I thought I was in the opening scene of a porno. It's all good."

Our seats were Section 216 Row Q Seats 58-60. Not great seats by any means, since Jolene's original plan to attend meant finding three and only three consecutive seasts, but they were aisle seats and with a good view of the stage and a video screen. Since it lacks a zoom my camera phone does a lousy job of capturing the true distance, but here goes:

While the opening acts were on stage (Colby O'Donis and Natasha Bedingfield) I wandered off to a now deserted merchandise stand.

I bought a poster ($10), a tour book ($25), a keychain ($5) and passed on the tees. I asked for a set of $10 magnets first and foremost but the girl left that to last, and in the meantime another customer had requested the last one on the table - uh uh sister. I had a hissy and said that I'd ordered it first. You better believe I walked away with them.

At 9 o'clock the lights dimmed again and it was time for the New Kids to take the stage . ..