Gary Carter

Gary Carter, the ever-smiling Hall of Fame catcher that was synonymous with the Montreal Expos, died today of brain cancer. He was 57. 

RIP

My Kiddos

 

Naturally

When it rains it pours - years struggling to find a decent job, and now that I've got one, what happens? I get a voicemail from a hotel asking me to come in and speak about an unnamed position that 'just opened'. Could be a management gig, could be a $7/hr desk clerk. We'll see, but it's worth a call.

Lisa with her friend Jessica's new baby 

 

The Grammy's

Damn good Grammy's show, no? Beach Boys (w/ a shaky Brian Wilson), Paul McCartney, Adele, Taylor, Glen Campbell, Foo Fighters, Katy Perry - sweet.

Congrats, so far, to Adele, Fergie, Taylor Swift and the Foo Fighters

Damn I love Paul McCartney.

Bam! Just rename the statue the "Adele" already :) Congrats yet again!

Ok Facebook. Grammy's are over, Danny-boo is freshly washed and my clothes are laid out. In 9.5 hours I start my new job, and hopefully begin my rise back to the middle of the bottom third of the middle's bottom third.;) Cya later.

Blue and Gold

Today was the Cub Scout's Blue and Gold luncheon. It went much better than I expected, even despite the fact that my kids were [redacted] grouches from the minute they woke up. They especially liked the Order of the Arrow Native American dancers, joining them for one of the dances. Of course the pics I sent from my phone never posted to FB and I deleted them assuming they had . . .

X-Men First Class

Just finished watching "X-Men First Class". Wonderful, action packed movie with a solid script. I wasn't expecting to like it at all - Marvel's obsession with mutants bores the hell out me - but there ya go. Well done. A.

Quote

 Don't go wobbly

Whitney Houston

 OMG!!!!

BREAKING NEWS Whitney Houston is dead at 48. RIP

This Queen Won't Fit

I spent a good part of the afternoon moving a queen mattress/box spring across town only to discover the box spring can't be moved upstairs because it fails to clear my stairway by about a third of an inch. Debating what to do - and generally disgusted with life.

watching Martha Stewart on Baking with Julia (Child). Great to see two legends together.

Stormhouse

We just watched a Brit horror film called 'Stormhouse' about a ghost captured and housed by the Brit gov't. How was it? Let's say this: when a character yelled "Is it over?" I prayed the answer would be 'yes'. A turd of a film. Grade: D.

 i have spent waaay too much time driving kids here and there in this snow. Ugh.

Lump's Drawings

 

Wild Thing by Josh Bazell

I just finished reading Josh Bazell's "Wild Thing". It's a sequel to "Beat the Reaper", a book I reviewed in '09 (you'll find the link in the first comment below). Our resident MD/former mafia assassin is sent into the wilds of Minnesota to verify the existence of a mythical creature that's allegedly chomping up folks in a lake. Along the way there's meth dealers, gunfights, and, naturally, a sword wielding Sarah Palin. It's a very enjoyable novel, and I continue to be a fan of Bazell's style of annotating the text. On the down side the character is more than a little bit of an as*hole - and judging by the afterword, that goes for the author too. But if you can put aside his ludicrous political, religious and social opinions, you've got a heck of a read. Grade: minus the author's paranoid rants, an A. As is, with nuttiness embedded, a B/B+

Doctor Who Season Six

 I stayed up waaaay too late last night to finish watching season six of Doctor Who. 1st half of Volume 2: "Let's Kill Hitler" was a hoot, "Night Terrors" was ho-hum, been there/done that, and "The Girl Who Waited" was pretty ho-hum itself until the last third, when it really gave your heart a wallop. I literally cursed at the Doctor when he closed the door on 'Old' Amy, the heartless bugger.

2nd half, volume 2 of series six: "The God Complex" was smart and creepy and continues an important theme of Moffat's tenure; dumping the demi-god status granted the Doctor by Rusell Davies. "Closing Time" was grand, a LOL romp marred only by the presence of the Cyberman. It was far too bit of a part for them, and should have been pawned off on another species. Finally, the "Wedding of River Song". CLASSIC Who, just perfect. There's not a wasted line of dialogue in this show; everything comes back to haunt you at some point. Grade: Grade? It's the greatest sci-fi show EVER. There isn't a grade high enough to rank it.

Top Gun

Watching the end of Top Gun on THIS. Just as much fun as when my Dad took me to see it back in the day. Still, not much in the mood for TV or films tonight, so I may just read before bed. How very 1934.

At the Park

 @park with the kids, seeing as my 'on call' shift at work was cxl'd.

An Election by John Scalzi

long day. Settling in to watch season 6/vol 2 of Doctor Who 

Meanwhile, I finished reading John Scalzi's "An Election", a 46 page story about a human running for a vacant City Council seat in a ward that is alien-majority. Quick, funny, and simply told. Go ahead and read it. I think it's only a buck or two on the Nook.

Metropolis

Once Lis hit the sack I finished watching Fritz Lang's 1927 restored masterpiece "Metropolis", now including 25 min of footage thought lost for most of a century. Marvelous film, although I'm not blind to the fact that Lang ignores a choppy story in favor of using emotion and strong visuals to convey his theme. BTW, the look of the film - my word! It's beautiful. 85 years later and I think Hollywood would have a hard time replicating some of the sets. It must have cost a fortune; I've heard upwards of $4 million *IN 1927 MONEY.* Just gorgeous. Grade: A (duh)

Charles Dickens Turns 200, GNR Rocks, and Arrested Development Returns

Today is the bicentennial of Charles Dickens' birth. RIP Chuck, and thanks.

Oh, and the live version of GNR's 'Knockin' on Heavens Door' rocks.

Tonight after work we finished watching the last of "Arrested Development". What can I say? It's a great, intelligent show, with fine acting/writing/laughs, and it deserves its stellar reputation. We loved it. *spoiler* I did find the finale, while a perfect bookend to the pilot, to be rather depressing. It invalidates everything Michael did in the three years prior, no? It was a waste of three years of his life, and it was a bit of a buzzkill.

GAB

 The GAB has announced they will not accept third party challenges to the recall petitions - meaning even if a third party finds my name scribbled on seven different pages, right next to Minnie Mouse and JFK, too bad so sad. Justice - as defined by a 'accountability' board loyal to Dems, means "to disenfranchise honest WI voters by ignoring fraud". Seriously, this state makes me ill. If things don't improve on the personal financial front, I'm leaning towards "Adios!".

A Great Tiger Meeting!

Great Tiger Cub meeting today (IMO at least).

Lisa and Lu designed a really cool poster of the food pyramid for me, and I made a bingo game of "good for you food/not so good" using pictures of various food items I clipped out of a grocery store flyer. 

It was surprising how many kids picked ice cream, pizza, or cheeseburgers as "good for you". Then we made candy airplanes for Valentines and ended w/ a snack of watermelon.

Firefly

I finished watching the last of "Firefly", Josh Wheldon's beloved but short lived sci-fi series. I enjoyed it, esp. since I like my mysteries dark and grim and my sci-fi light and fun. But the whole old west-meets the future bit was done 20 years ago on Galaxy Rangers, thank you, and (ducks in advance) overall the series gets more accolades than it deserves just by virtue of its quick cancellation.

Midnight in Peking by Paul French

I've stayed up late to finish reading an advance copy of "Midnight in Peking" a true crime book by Paul French. It's the story of the gruesome murder of Pamela Werner, a 20 year old British woman living in Peking on the cusp of WWII.

Despite taking place in a city literally surrounded by invading Japanese, the murder of a white woman still makes headline news around the world and spawns an intense manhunt, but one that may have been rigged to fail from the beginning.

It's a fascinating tale and French tells it well, although I think he runs out of story 4/5ths of the way through. Grade: B+ On sale April 24th.

No Bueno

Man, I hate when Smiley comes home from a weekend at Grandma's (and that's no knock on Grandma). So far he's argued with the other kids, said he hated me, screamed because I won't take him to the park, and whined because I won't read a packet about ducks to him right now (yeah, no; I'm making supper, I have 3 other kids to worry about too). Grandma's is vacation land; this here is the real world. 

LuLu behind the wheel

LuLu is ecstatic that I let her 'drive' the van home from the park.

Not quite. She rode shotgun with her hand on the wheel w/ mine, and yes, when it came to our alley I let her complete the turn and guide it onto our property.

Doesn't matter; the first thing she did when she got into the house was taunt YaYa with "I got to drive before you-oo-ou".

Is Dis Summa?

 @ the park w/ lk and lu, having finally given into their pleas on a day so nice lk asked "is dis summa? Cuz winter not warm and it warm." then, off to work til close . .

53 Years Gone

53 years ago today The Music Died. RIP Buddy. The world has been a lousier place without you.

Paranormal Activity 3

We watched "Paranormal Activity 3" after dinner tonight. Given that it was the 3rd film in the series to pull the 'found footage' scenario I was expecting the law of diminishing returns to render this a dud. To our surprise, I thought it was darn good. There's an interesting plot twist and some genuine scares; we even jumped in our seats at one point. I'd rate it as a solid B/B+

The Last Great Game by Gene Wojiechowski

During a veeeerrry long wait at the Dr's office today I finished reading " The Last Great Game by Gene Wojciechowski. It's the story of the monumental Duke/Kentucky match-up in the 1992 Elite Eight. It's a joy to read, very similar in scope and style to "Game Six" (one of my favorite books of the last few yrs). 

I'll forever remember watching that game live on TV in '92. I was crushed when Duke went down w/ 2.1 seconds left in overtime - and screaming with joy when Laettner sank "The Shot" to win it for the Blue Devils. I loved that team. Hurley, Hill, Laettner, Coach K. It was good to revisit them in their prime, and to learn the background of that ferocious KY team. 

Recommended for sports fans. Grade: A.

Shark Night

Last night we Redboxed "Shark Night", a horror film starring American Idol runner-up Katherine McPhee and the daughter from "Gilmore Girls". It's a film about a bunch of college kids terrorized by sharks while they visit a saltwater lake in LA.  It's not the worst shark movie ever made, and they do make the commendable effort to weave in a revenge/thriller aspect; they fail miserably, as it was a ludicrous plot twist,  but again, commendable that they tried.  Grade: C

Don Cornelius

 RIP Don Cornelius (of Soul Train) age 75, of apparent suicide

A Scary Restroom Visit

Oh man, was I worried for a second. But then I remembered: "Oh, that's right. I had cherry soda last night".

On Drug Tests and Human Poo

Passed my pre-employment drug test today. I still object philosophically to the practice; if I don't operate heavy machinery or work in a profession where safety is an issue, then it's none of your business whether I choose to spend my free time in church or snorting lines off a stripper's belly.

Anywho, the test put me less than a mile from an Olive Garden, so Lisa & I headed there for lunch. The food was good, but the memorable bit was finding a human turd sitting on the lobby floor, right outside the men's room. You won't see that on Top Chef, now willya?

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley and Taken by Robert Crais

 I finished two books today, the first being 'The Rook' by Daniel O'Malley. Myfanwy Thomas wakes up with no memory of who or what she is, but soon discovers she is a high ranking official in a centuries old British agency devoted to dealing with the supernatural. Someone in the agency betrayed her and stole her memories, and oh, by the way - mutants from Belgium are getting set to invade England. I loved the book. It had plenty of action, a great protagonist in Thomas, slime, tentacles, and a lot of humor. A.

The second book of the day? 'Taken', an Elvis Cole/Joe Pike novel by Robert Crais. Cole is hired to find a young Hispanic woman abducted by the drug cartels along the Mexican border.The POV switches back and forth from Elvis, to the girl, to Pike, and let me tell you, it's a nail biter. A few times I got squeamish, anticipating the worst case scenario to come. Grade: A

School Art

 

Raylan by Elmore Leonard

 I finished reading "Raylan", the new novel by Elmore Leonard. It's a Raylan Givens story, aka the character from the TV series "Justified". I love 'Justified' and Leonard's a legend, but . . . I don't know. I've always felt Leonard is overrated. Sure his dialogue is sharp, but he relies on it too much - think Quentin Tarantino. Sometimes you just want the characters to STFU, and it wouldn't hurt to read a description of something once in awhile. I didn't love it. Maybe you will. But my opinion is the one that counts in this here box, so I give it a C.

Friends S2/E1

 watching the 2nd season opener of 'Friends' and repeatedly LOL. Great episode. It was the 2nd episode I ever saw back in the day; small wonder I came to worship the show.

School Deocrations

a school decoration lisa's working on

A Review

Just want to thank you, I had two dear friends who were sick, and I purchased two flower arrangements at the Chase & Oklahoma Piggly Wiggly, they were awesome, and the made a big hit. Thanks again Chase Piggly Wiggly, you are my go to flower store - Grandma J

Breakfast at Tiffany's and 30 Rock

I saw 'Breakfast at Tiffany's" for the first time a few days ago. I don't think it holds up very well after 50 years. But, that could just be me. I would also like to publicly announce that I believe '30 Rock' to be one of the ten best written sitcoms in broadcast history.

Three Movies

 "My Fake Fiance" is a tv movie starring Melissa Joan Hart, aka "Sabrina the Teenage Witch", and Joey "Blossom" Lawrence. I'm pretty sure the only memory they took away from the film was of cashing their checks, but it wasn't bad for what it was; a light, superficial rom-com. C

"Play the Game" is another romantic comedy this time starring TV legend Andy Griffith as a senior citizen whose playboy grandson helps make him a hit with the ladies. It was long for a rom-com but sweet and entertaining, and I'm immature enough to enjoy seeing Andy Griffith talk about Viagra and bumping uglies. B

"Larry Crowne" is a comedy starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. Hanks loses his job and returns to college, where he befriends a gang of scooter riders and falls for his teacher (Roberts). It was pleasant, but the script seemed loose (relying on too much fluff and filler early on, then forcing the romance at the last minute). It should have been better, esp. w/ these two in the lead. C+/B-

Junie lining up for Church

 

Big News

I have a longstanding rule not to talk about work online. Think about it: if you didn't know me in 'real' life, would you even know what Job Prior - my career of ten years - was? Howsabout where I work now? Probably not. "Don't sh*t where you eat" is a nice rule I picked up watching the Sopranos, but I'll break it just this once:

On Friday I received word that the long drought was over. I was offered, and accepted, a 'real' job. Not great pay, but a big swing in the right direction.

 That's about all the details you'll get out of me online, but yes, I'm very happy :)

Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell

Late last night I finished reading "Death of Kings", the newest book in the Saxon tales by Bernard Cornwell. Uthred, the fierce pagan warrior, remains loyal, if indifferent, to Alfred the Great and his quest to unite 9th century England. With Alfred's death Wessex faces its greatest test: a Danish invasion from the north and dissension from within, and Uthred must ride forth, no longer as the shield of the Saxons, but as their sword. A GREAT historical adventure by the master of the form, and even as a devout Catholic I LOL'd at Uthred's blasphemous retorts to the Bishop's who seek to reign him in. Well worth a read. A+

Red Lobster

Just back from a rare trip to Red Lobster, celebrating news I received Friday. I am stuffed full of wasabi rubbed salmon and those damn cheddar biscuits. Busy evening ahead: me thinketh a nap might be just the right dessert.

WOT

Just a quick dork note: I think it's grand that the final book of the Wheel of Time series will see the light of day in the Chinese year of . . .you guessed it, The Dragon. 

Sister Wives

Last night we finished watching Season 2 of "Sister Wives", a reality show about a polygamous family in Utah. I have ZERO problem with a loving polygamous family that obeys the law (well, outside of that pesky 'bigamy' crap). A good show and I hope there's a season three.

Monster Truck Jam

Last night I took Smiley to a Monster Truck rally at the Bradley Center, courtesy of his Cub Scout Pack. We had great tickets only two rows back from the action. (good thing we had ear plugs!). Now personally, I was bored as hell. There's an awful lot of downtime and I have zero interest in trucks/cars/BMX's/ten minute tributes to the American flag, etc. That's just me. Smiley enjoyed most of it, but I was amused to see that he too was generally unimpressed on a whole - when it comes down to it, he's a 6 year old Danny. Still, we had fun.