Smiley's Ears - Update

One bad thing about running a blog for three years is that you're never quite sure what you've mentioned in print and what you haven't, because you're ALWAYS composing posts in your head.

On the 5th of December Smiley had tubes put in his ears. You may fill in the blanks with any cliche you like - what a brave boy, etc - because they all ring true. Frankly, I'm not even sure he realized anything happened. As far as he knows he got to mess around with a stethoscope, fell asleep, and woke up to watch Elmo. Period.

[At a slightly older age YaYa had a minor procedure. She didn't enjoy the 'drunkenness' of the anesthesia and asked the doc "Why you have three heads?" then vomited on the way home. Smiley enjoyed the heck out of the intoxicant and had no ill-effects from the drugs]

Since then its been a parade of hearing tests. There's no magic bullet and he hasn't blossomed into a Kennedy-esque speaker, or even mastered more than one additional word [blue = 'bool"].

At the last appointment on Thursday they gave his right ear a clean bill of health but noted problems with the left. They want the doc to look at it again and have us signing him up for speech, hearing, and development assessments. That's crap - the boy can't speak, but he's a thousand ways from dumb or mentally slow. If only politicians were granted half his brains and all of his speech.

Today we noticed a thick, milkish fluid pooled in his left ear - think the android blood from Alien - which was both alarming and disgusting. There's another medical appointment this week, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.

BigFoot

Here's some shots of Smiley gamely trying to fill his Daddy's size 13 steel toes. Someday buddy, someday.

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NFL WildCard Weekend

I watched both games yesterday. I'm a Seattle fan so that was a pretty easy game to pick sides. Washington was over-rated, and that whole Sean Taylor thing . . a tragedy yes, but it wasn't like losing Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, or for that matter even Thurman Munson. How long can you stretch out a family's pain for your own PR?

I'm glad the Seahawks won, and sad that I now have to root for them to lose - they'll face Green Bay next week.

The AFC game rocked. I didn't have a clear favorite going in but Jacksonville certainly won me over. The 4th and 2 turned 30 yard run - priceless. I thought they played it a little too safe at the end, but they pulled it out. Good for them, and for their quarterback.

Now today's games . . I say the Giants over TB, SD over Tennessee. We'll see.

UPDATE: I was right about both, but the games were abysmally boring.

RIP Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus

For those of you outside Wisconsin, the Badger State lost one of its best this week. Former Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus (R), passed away of respitory failure. He was 81.

Dreyfus was in office from 1979-1983, a one term governor who walked away from an almost certain re-election. He was a latecomer to the Republican party and politics in general, joining the party only after a mid-'70's trip to China convinced him a one-party system was abhorrent.

Wisconsin, at the time, was a Democratic stronghold bordering on absolute dominance. So Dreyfus joined the GOP.

"My mother always taught me it was polite to join a party before you take it over," he said.

He ran without special interest money or much advertising, but ran into luck when Pope John Paul II took office. Dreyfus, the former Chancellor of what would become UW - Stevens Point, had once met the new Pope when he toured the state as a Cardinal. 

In Wisconsin, the  news footage of the new Pope featured  Dreyfus alongside the Pontiff in many shots, burning the association into the minds of good Catholics across the state  - and nevermind that Dreyfus was Episcopalian.

Dreyfus, with his trademark red vests, was also quick with the one-liner. Madison, he said, "is 30 square miles surrounded by reality"

He found the concept of a budget surplus an 'immorality' because he believed it meant citizens were either being over-taxed, slighted on services, or both. He would leave a defecit behind for his successor.

A national economic downturn curtailed any grand plans for the administration, but he remained a popular figure that would go on to lead Sentry insurance.

Dreyfus is the first Governor I remember, primarily from his photo on the back of maps as a kid, and he's the first one I ever saw in person. It was nothing more than a passing glimpse. I think I was with my paternal Grandparent's and as we were leaving a restaurant he was walking in, or vice versa. He could tell I recognized him, smiled, and nodded. Maybe he even said hello. Maybe not.

Nothing more than that, but it was enough for me to remember him fondly.

He'll be missed.

 

The Inaugural 2008 SleepOver

One of YaYa's friends was in need of a babysitter for Friday and somehow it morphed into a large sleepover. Representing YaYa: Anna, AnnaBelle, Sophia. For LuLu: Amelia.

Friday afternoon Lisa took them sledding at South Shore while I watched Smiley and the baby.

Her's Sophia's Mom:

I believe YaYa is in the pink.

Later that night we watched Meet the Robinson's (an impressive Disney flick - Keep Moving Forward!) then bunked down for the night. There were some issues with kids afraid of the dark, but all in all it went smooth.

2

In the morning, waffles

Once some of the kids left we packed up the rest and went to Home Depot for the monthly kids craft project. This month was a hit - a princess castle bank - and so the line was super long (in fact, a verbal argument with open threats of physical violence erupted when someone tried to skip in line)

At any rate it was too long of a wait so I asked someone at the store to sneak some of the projects out to me. Later, when the rest of the kids went home and Lisa was at work (and after I made a great dinner of steak and potatoes that the kids ignored) I helped them put the projects together.

[note both Smiley's physique and the 40 Christmas cards we received, after sending out 55 (and having several returned for wrong addresses). Not a bad return on our investment.]

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Quote of the Day (Language Advisory)

True story:

I'm at work late on New Years Eve and some kids come up to get change. But I'm already dealing with a young couple in their early '20's. The male half of this couple comes up a little short and asks his girlfriend to front him the money.

"You'll have to work at paying me back," she says.

He scoffs. "You can have a taste of my balls. That'll be enough of a payback," he says.

She laughs.

""No, really; a taste of Balls is more than enough," he said.

At this point I'm a little p*ssed. "You want to watch your language around the kids?" I say.

They look incredulous.

"Balls is a drink," the guy says, and shows me a bottle. The woman bursts out laughing.

I'm still not sure if I was conned or not, but they sure seemed on the up and up.

* * * *

Again - thank God I no longer work nights in this business. Without going into detail (and I never have re: work) I mediated a physical argument between two groups. One accused the other of getting a child drunk; the other claimed the accusers were armed and going to retaliate.

All this and that before-mentioned headache too . .

100 minutes to go. . . and then all I have to worry about is driving home with all the drunks on the road.

Sigh. I shoulda been born rich.

My 2008 Resolutions

Why I bother with this self-defeating ritual is beyond me. Nah, that's not true. At the end of the year it gives me some means of gauging my personal successes and failure's, and it does preserve some idea of what struck me as important at a given point in my life.

So with that I present Slapinions List of Doable but Likely Unattainable New Year's Resolutions 2008 Edition.

I'm going to try to keep it simple, both in numbers (an even 10) and in scope.

 1. I will continue to eat healthier and treat my body better, with an ambitious but secondary goal of finishing '08 at 270# or lower (a drop of ~70 pounds)

  I quit smoking; now I just have to conquer this
 
 2. I will continue to place a stronger emphasis on attending church with the kids
  I value my religion and want to pass that on to the kids.

 3. I will make a serious and determined effort to secure publication of my writing

 4. I will try not to be an as**ole
    I have been more self-aware as late; in the past few years my temper has shortened and my standard-issue sarcasm is coming off wrong to others. Time to change that.
  
 5. I will continue to hammer away at my anxiety issues
    This would be a major victory

 6. I will organize my finances so every paycheck isn't worthy of panic
     I'd like to get a Christmas account going, some additional life insurance (esp. on the house), and a genu-ine 401K of worth

 7. I will try to limit my swearing
  Because frankly, I often sound like a sailor

 8. I will try to be nicer to my family (siblings/parents). 
     They make me all jittery and I get snappish. I should work on that.

 9. I will try to enjoy every moment I spend with my wife and kids
    I already do; but I want to remember each day in detail. They are growing up so fast.

10. I will seek fufillment and happiness in my professional life
     In whatever shape that takes.

To everyone; ahappy, safe, and blessed year ahead!

Happy New Year!

This (*^(*^& Cold/Flu

Really - this must be the cold/flu to end all colds/flus.

Here it is maybe 10 or 12 days after it began and I'm still victim of a horrendous sinus headache and I'm lucky to keep 1 meal in 3 down. Mind you I'm still ok 68% of the day and go about my business, but this is wicked.

Lauren is pretty sick with the cold aspect of this, Smiley's nose runs so much it looks like it should be replaced with a cartoon faucet, but Lu is much improved.

YaYa still seems ok but has taken up with a small fever. Worst thing: yesterday she complained about her chest and when I felt her her heart was beating it's way out of her ribcage. A call to the doc calmed me when he laid it at the feet of the fever, but I checked her several times overnight.

Today, the same thing. Out of nowhere, maybe an hour ago.

If she was older and had any cares at all I'd say it mimics a panic attack, but I'm sure the doctor is right and it's the onset of this cold/flu.

Here's hoping we all improve soon.

My 2007 Resolutions

Oh man am I a loser, if super-good looking/intelligent folks can ever truly bear that title. In a quest to compose a brief list of resolutions for the upcoming year I came across this post from exactly one year ago today.

Franky, I’d forgotten all about it. I’d thought I’d resolved NOT to make resolutions for 2007, as it was obvious the first part of the year would be taken up with remodeling my house, and the second part with a new baby – both of which preclude any real progress on things like taking trips, or for that matter even taking the chance on a new job.

Here’s the list, and how I did:

1. Continue losing weight, and stick with it.

 Yeah, uh, yeah, ya see . . technically I’ve lost somewhere in the neighborhood of 20+ pounds in the last three months, but that’s after gaining around 70 since New Years. So uh, no.

2. Finish the $3%#$ book

Next.

3. Transcribe all the interviews I've done over the years

Didn’t even look at ‘em.

4. Keep all my teeth

Success!

5. Find happiness in my employment

Let me see if I can put into words how miserably I failed on this score . . oh, no. I can’t.

6. Learn something new

Well, c’mon – try living one year and not learning something. Next.

7. Try to live by my adage "Try not to be an a**hole", as I notice I've been a jerk a lot of 2006 - I blame the job.

Opinions vary.

8. Spend time with my family whenever possible, and actually 'be' present, not just physically there. I've zoned out a lot as of late.

I think I accomplished this. I’ve certainly stepped up to the plate with the new baby.

9. Here's an iffy - see Gettysburg

The closest I got was Gurnee, Illiniois.

10. Resolve or minimize my anxiety, etc. issues

I’ve been much more aggressive on this score and in fairness, I think I have improved a bit.

11. Host a belated 10th anniversary/wife's 30th birthday bash

No money, honey.

12. Take up a physical activity

Well, now that we don’t live in a one-level flat I walk up the stairs several times a day. Does that count?

I guess I’ll have to sit down and come up with something doable for 2008 before the New Year begins. Let me mull it over.

Ugh

NE wins 38-35. Give the devils their due, the Patriots struck back hard, but c'mon - the Giants, each and every time I see them, come to a point where they hit a wall and fall apart.

Poor time management, dropped passes, fumbles . .

Ugh.

So for the 4th time an NFL team goes undefeated. Shitty year for the Packers to be so strong; even if they make the SuperBowl they'd probably come in as heavy underdogs.

End of 3rd

Again, missed most of it with the baby. Now's the time to shut NE down; give up a TD on this drive and I worry about the final outcome.

C'mon Giants, hold 'em!

Halftime

I missed most of the 2nd with a poopy diaper and a cranky baby, but the half-ending drive was phenomenal.

I can't believe how pumped I am. I get soo competitive, and never fail to quickly align myself with one opponent or another, even if I've never seen the teams before.  . testosterone and adrenaline just surging through my veins . . Wow.

Allright, Lauren's bawling. Time to go.

Go Giants!

End of 1st Quarter

First, the most important thing. What a crying shame that a game of such historical importance be voiced by Bryant Gumbel. There has never been a more boring, hesitant, dry announcer.

* * *

And Pi** on the NFL's pathetic attempts to pimp the NFL Network. No, I don't need my cable bill to go up for some slapped-together excuse of a network. I live and breathe baseball and I wouldn't want a 214/7/365 MLB channel either, you money hungry jack**ses.

* * *

I'm very anti-conspiracy, but that b.s. call that voided that 3rd and long sack reeked of micromanagment by the NFL.

* * *

Thanks for the dance in the end zone Randy, and for the TD it created for the Giants.

* * * *
Please, please, continue to pound Jan Brady on every down.

 

Some brief commentary on the Silver Screen

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that last weekend my wife and I were able to see a movie together for the first time in over a year, courtesy of my niece Caitlin's first-ever babysitting.

We saw I am Legend, a movie I've been hankering to see for a long time. Remember I saw the Charlteon Heston version and I'm a fan (albeit a casual one) of author Richart Matheson (sp?).

I loved it, but I left under no misconception that it was Old School or frankly much of a date movie. To quote my wife, who also enjoyed it, "It was like watching the first 10 minutes of [Saving} Private Ryan over and over and over for 2 hours".

She's right. It's dark, it's depressing, and it's relentless. There is no levity, no rainbow in the clouds, no sense of anything but despair.

A very good flick.

* * *

One of my little joys in life  has been watching Turner Movie Classics. It seems to be what American Movie Classics was in my childhood (now it is a mis-mosh of recent crap, presumably because TMC withdrew it's library from that station).

I watched Detective Story, a 1951 Kirk Douglas/William Bendix  piece last night. It doesn't hold up well. Morals have changed, it was overacted, and the plot was weak.

One thing I walked away from it with was a new appreciation for the constitutional restrictions placed upon the police. Complain about Miranda all you want; now watch the allegedly accurate potrayal of a 1951 police station in that movie and thank that little pr**k for that Supreme Court decision.

Folks are denied lawyers, even when they ask for one. Suspects are slapped, kicked, and threatened with beatings. (One lawyer photographs his client before booking to ensure no rough stuff). People, both suspects, witnesses, and victims are brow beaten and pushed to do what the cops want.

AND THROUGHOUT IT ALL, NO ONE EVEN QUESTIONS THE BEHAVIOR.

I presume audiences of 1951 didn't blink either, since it was a famous Broadway play turned Academy Award nominated movie and again, deemed 'accurate' - even to the point of having Douglas suit up in a real NY police station to get the 'feel' for his [abusive] part.

The only socially positive spin - there was an African-American officer.

Man - if I haven't mentioned it before Lord, thanks for having my folks make me in 1974.

* * * *

I also saw Lily Turner (~1933) starring Ruth Chatterton. Ruth was a moderately famous actress who phased out of sight with the implementation of the Morals Code in the mid '30's.

And small wonder - Lily Turner features bigamy, routine adultery, alcoholism, insanity, and attempted murder.

The movie was awarded two stars by Time Warner Cable, but I thought it was decent show, albeit nothing special.

Warning: slipping into 'sassy' talk for a few paragraphs

Chatterton, even at 40, was pretty darn hot, but then again I'm starting to like women in that age range (but that whole naughty girl thing helped lol)

Sigh. It's a shame. Hollywood's finest lived and died decades before the current crop of aneroxic no-talents made it mandatory for actresses to take off their shirts.

But I digress.

Back to good clean family fun

Two points to make about the movie: One the crazy killer was of course, someone with a heavy German accent - also the case in Detective Story. Wartime propaganda dies hard.

Second, in some of the scenes both Chatteton and two men are used as living advertising for a health supplement - I forget the exact wording, but they are billed as being the picture postcard of fitness and health.

Chatterton, and Lord knows I wouldn't complain, has curves and is easily several sizes above current 'standards'.

The men, including one 'strongman', look scrawny and ill-defined. We'd all giggle if they were the models for such malarkey today.

The woman you can write off as changing societal ideals I guess, but the men??? Obviously decades of better medicines, a wider and generally more nuturious menu, and advances in pure size have changed our 'ideal man'. Remember, my maternal grandpa died at 5'6" and a chubby 160# - I'm 6'3" and admittedly overweight, but with a frame that dwarfs his.

Micro-evolution at work over 3/4ths of a century? Perhaps some of that is involved too.

What do you think?

On the Hall, Bhutto, and Snow

Thanks for the well wishes on recovering from our Christmas illnesses's. Unfortunately while YaYa seems completely immune, Lisa is a near zombie, LuLu still feels awful, Smiley isn't living up to his name, and the baby is grumpy.

On the other hand I seem to be on the mend, so hah!

Anyhow, I just wanted to pop on and leave behind a few scattered comments while I have a few moments.  

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto really shocked me. I'd been casually following her opposition to the Pakistini government  for a few months and to open cnn.com and see the headline of her death . . wow.

We've got friends from Pakistan that visit their home every few years, and I think she's there now . . I'll pray for her safety.

* * * *

4 - 8 more inches of snow today, on top of the 2 plus feet that has already made this the 5th snowiest December in recorded Milwaukee history.

Ugh.

* * * *
Good for the NFL for caving in and opening the potentially historic Patriots-Giants game up to the nation at large. I'll be watching - and rooting against New England.

* * * *

Ballots are due on Monday for the Baseball Hall of Fame. If I had a vote . . 

Well, hell, I'm as 'small hall' guy. I get my jollies when years produce only one or two inductees, and the rare year when no one gets in, 'tis warms me heart it does.

No one on the 2008 ballot really excites me. Under the guise of 'small hall', if I had to pick one name, it'd be. .

Mark McGwire.

Sure he probably did steroids, but if the Mitchell report did anything it showed that the use and abuse of those drugs was more 'mainstream' than previously imagined. Does that excuse him? Nah.

But go ahead and tell me how many of those home runs you'd take away because of steroids. This isn't Tony Gwynn; the man was going to hit 'em out (to some degree) roids or no roids.

Not voting for him because he was a 'one trick pony' who could only hit home runs? Yeah, uh huh. Like that would have stopped you from electing him pre-congressional hearing. Don't be a hypocrite.

I guess I have nothing more than an emotional rationale for my support of his candidacy. I enjoyed watching him play, I really did.

If the future has a place for Bonds and Clemens in the Hall, as I'm sure it does, than Big Mac belongs there too.

Now if I was going to go 'big hall' here's who I'd choose:

Tim Raines -  2,605 hits and 808 stolen bases

Allan Trammell  -better than most shortstops in the Hall; overshadowed by some more media-popular players of his era

Bert Byleven - not a name that jumps out at you, but a sufficient 'compiler' of stats to warrant election. 5th all time in strikeouts, 25th or 26th in wins (I forget which)

and the beforementioned McGWire.

 

 

Happy Boxing Day

Happy Boxing Day all - hope your Christmas was magical.

Ours was marred a bit by illness. On Xmas Eve I took the day off and took LuLu to the doctor. She'd had a cold all weekend and had actually asked to go to the doc, but I underestimated her illness. Turns out she had pneumonia and was quickly put on some powerful antibiotics and an inhaler. While everyone at my Mom's house had already been exposed (and thus the celebration went on) we had to cancel both our standard Christmas morning breakfast with my father-in-law  and a planned Xmas night party at our house.

By today everyone was sick to some degree and I took the two little one's to the ER (I was unable to get a dr appointment) but nada on pneumonia - just bad respitory colds.

Anyhow, the Christmas Eve party was a lot of fun. I made mashed potatoes - peeled 'em and all - and the food was good and the company good natured.

There's pics of the day, and maybe I'll post them soon (inc. some pics of Lauren's first Christmas) but right now the baby's crying up a storm, the wife is sneezing and my sinus feel like they weigh as much as my belly . .

Woo. Gonna be a fun way to send off 2007.

VH1's Top 100 songs of the '90's

The wife and I watched much of VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '90's and had a blast doing it . . .but we were disappointed in the final 20.

The order seemed a bit jumbled there at the end (U2 at #2 - really?? - they're a good band, tho' over-rated, but either way the #2 song of the DECADE?). TLC doesn't belong in the 20 either (thank Left Eye's death for the sympathy vote), or Destiny's Child Say My Name, and Alanis shoulda cracked the top 10 - was there a more signature song of the mid '90's then You Oughta Know?

My wife agreed Nirvana would take the crown, but disagreed with the selection. [How cool that Kelly Rowland of Destiny's Child called Teen Spirit her favorite song of all time?]. Try as I might, I cannot convince her to abandon her distaste for the group. As in my failure to convert her to Catholicism, I worry this too will condemn her soul.

All in all, not a bad list for your MP3 player.

100 Greatest Songs Of The '90s Full List 01. Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit" 02. U2 "One" 03. Backstreet Boys "I Want It That Way" 04. Whitney Houston "I Will Always Love You" 05. Madonna "Vogue" 06. Sir Mix-A-Lot "Baby Got Back" 07. Britney Spears "...Baby One More Time" 08. TLC"Waterfalls" 09. R.E.M. "Losing My Religion" 10. Sinéad O'Connor "Nothing Compares 2 U" 11. Pearl Jam "Jeremy" - their most popular Ten song, but not my favorite at all. 12. Alanis Morissette "You Oughta Know" 13. Dr. Dre (featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg) "Nuthin' but a "G" Thang" 14. Mariah Carey "Vision of Love" 15. Red Hot Chili Peppers "Under the Bridge" 16. MC Hammer "U Can't Touch This" 17. Destiny's Child "Say My Name" 18. Metallica "Enter Sandman" 19. Beastie Boys "Sabotage" 20. Hanson "MMMBop" Twenty to 25 rock . . 21. Celine Dion "My Heart Will Go On" 22. Beck "Loser" 23. Salt-N-Pepa with En Vogue "Whatta Man" 24. House of Pain "Jump Around" 25. Soundgarden "Black Hole Sun" 26. Eminem "My Name Is" 27. Counting Crows "Mr. Jones" 28. Ricky Martin "Livin' laVida Loca" man I hated this song. 29. Vanilla Ice "Ice Ice Baby" I owned TWO copies of this album 30. *NSYNC "Tearin' Up My Heart" 31. Radiohead "Creep" Love it! 32. BLACKstreet "No Diggity" true story: lacking cable and therefore videos, I thought this was Backstreet Boys until 2005. 33. Spice Girls "Wannabe" I still love Posh, but looking at them all in the video . . yum. 34. Third Eye Blind "Semi-Charmed Life" boring 35. Oasis "Wonderwall" kickass 36. C+C Music Factory "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)"still rocks, and with a NKOTB connection. 37. Green Day "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" Bush bashers or not, they're great 38. Christina Aguilera "Genie In A Bottle" c'mon - who didn't think she was the best singer among the Britney's of the world 39. Goo Goo Dolls "Iris" I liked Goo Goo before they were big. 40. Color Me Badd "I Wanna Sex You Up" the ugly guy married Tamara Gray??? 41. Spin Doctors "Two Princes" I'm ashamed to say I used to like it 42. Collective Soul "Shine" 43. En Vogue "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" 44. The Fugees "Killing Me Softly With His Song" 45. Hootie & the Blowfish "Only Wanna Be With You" 46. Shania Twain "You're Still the One" 47. Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch "Good Vibrations" still makes ya move 48. Matchbox Twenty "3 AM" 49. Jewel "Who Will Save Your Soul" 50. Alice in Chains "Man in the Box" Please . .it's Alice! 51. Tupac (featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman) "California Love" 52. Sugar Ray "Fly" 53. Naughty by Nature "O.P.P." Lisa still laughs that I learned what OPP meant only when watching this show 54. Joan Osborne "One of Us" a fave of Lisa's . . catchy song. 55. Fiona Apple "Criminal" 56. L.L. Cool J "Mama Said Knock You Out" 57. Jay-Z featuring Amil and Ja Rule "Can I Get A..." 58. Sophie B. Hawkins "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover" 59. Weezer "Buddy Holly" 60. Bell Biv DeVoe "Poison" loved it. 61. Sheryl Crow "All I Wanna Do" tired 62. Live "I Alone" always brings back memories of my sister's ex, but I love Live 63. The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Mase & Puff Daddy "Mo Money Mo Problems" yeah, uh, I'll try the mo problems on for size 64. The Presidents of the United States of America "Peaches" don't remember it from back in the day, honestly 65. Digital Underground "The Humpty Dance" shoulda cracked the top 20! 66. Edwin McCain "I'll Be" what a plain looking guy, eh? 67. Deee-Lite "Groove Is In The Heart" catchy and groovy and the chick is yum 68. Will Smith "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" deserves to be here, but won't be played in 20 years. 69. Korn "Freak on a Leash" never got into them 70. Jamiroquai "Virtual Insanity"again, don't remember it, maybe because it was video heavy? 71. Arrested Development "Tennessee" Milwaukee native Speech 72. Barenaked Ladies "One Week" 73. Marcy Playground "Sex and Candy" 74. Cher "Believe" 75. Kris Kross "Jump" 76. Blues Traveler "Run-Around" 77. Ice Cube "It Was a Good Day" i owned the album. the song sucks. 78. Lenny Kravitz "Are You Gonna Go My Way" loved it back then. still catchy. 79. Meredith Brooks "Bitch" change the title and it wouldn't be here. yawn. 80. Right Said Fred "I'm Too Sexy" yawn 81. Paula Cole "I Don't Want to Wait" 82. Geto Boys "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" my cousin was a big fan 83. The Breeders "Cannonball" I loved this song! 84. Snow "Informer" I loved this too, to my shame! Still catchy. 85. Cypress Hill "Insane In The Brain" liked it. 86. The Cranberries "Linger" 87. Billy Ray Cyrus "Achy Breaky Heart" saw him in concert, and the kids love his daughter 88. Duncan Sheik "Barely Breathing" 89. Liz Phair "Never Said" saw her in concert long past her prime 90. New Radicals "You Get What You Give" 91. Sarah McLachlan "Building a Mystery" 92. Public Enemy "911 Is A Joke" 93. Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories "Stay" god, you couldn't avoid this awful song in the '90's 94. Fastball "The Way" 95. Montell Jordan "This is How We Do It" LOVE it . memories of my nephews birth 96. Nelson "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection" 97. Prince & The New Power Generation "Gett Off" I love Prince 98. EMF"Unbelievable" 99. Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" 100. Gerardo "Rico Suave"  please shoot me if I ever hear this again.

 

Our house - one year later

Today marks one solid year since we purchased our home. Only 29 more years until it's all ours!

A year ago the room where I'm sitting belonged to somone else, peeling paint, water damaged walls, cloth wire light fixture and all.

Hard to believe it's been a year, and harder to believe it's the same house. That 2006 version feels more and more like we imagined it all - in which case we have some pretty masochistic fantasies.

One thing I'm not too fond of as a homeowner is snow shoveling. Milwaukee has been  buried under snow and ice all month, two feet plus if memory serves, and in response I duly say: Global Warming my A**.

All those years I whined about having to park on the street I never took into account that the city doesn't plow alleys. So now I have off-street parking but not a day goes by without my little car getting stuck, and more than once I've helped a neigbor push through a snow drift or an ice pack.

Ice dams have become a genuine concern around the city and no more so than at my house. One of two items we didn't have money to fix around here was the roof, an ancient affair with more than 5 layers of shingles.. Yikes.

I spent some time all week throwing ice chunks at 4 and 5 foot long icecles hanging from the south side of the house before they took my gutters down with their sheer weight.

Of course, as I write this the city is gripped in a balmy fog and much of the accumulation has turned to water - the alley has a twenty foot long puddle a good 6 inches deep - but the news says we have 2 or 3 inches on the way overnight.

Yeah. Again folks - global warming my A**.

My Christmas List

I have been asked, believe it or not, to provide more ideas for Christmas gifts for myself. I believe this to be nothing more than a cruel hoax designed to get my hopes up, but here goes:

Not gonna happen:

A nice MP3 player

Guitar

powerful Electric Drill (ala Milwaukee or Dewalt brand)

400 DVD player

Possible gifts:

Into the Wild Soundtrack by Eddie Vedder. 102.1 here in Milwaukee is playing one of the songs from this album and it's great. I'd love to hear the rest.

Pearl Jam's Rear View Window  - a retrospective that'll allow me to catch up on the band

I am Legend by Richard Matheson

Blake's 7 Afterlife (book)

Brain Games - handheld video game

Dominoes

Slippers

white over-the-calf socks with Hanes written on 'em so I can match them better :)

Nirvana's Unplugged DVD

someone could pay off my fines to the facist library system

Check back later - there's gotta be something else my greedy mind would like, no?

Pics of LK

Here's some pics of Lauren. I've grown unexpectedly fond of the girl, certainly more than any of the babies since YaYa. I'm spending more time with her than I did the others - remember I worked 3rd shift for her siblings 1st years - and I'm just darn smitten with her, and her smile.  

aoljpictureUpload, aoljpictureUpload_5

Two Rants - Jamie Lynn Spears and US Cellular

You know one thing I hate about AOL? The news on both the welcome page and aol.com is sooo outdated. I read about something Monday and find it on AOL on Wednesday, usually under some idiotic link in the form of a question that presumes you're going to be shocked and awed by the news. . . the very OLD news.

Someday soon AOL might get around to breaking the news that Truman beat Dewey.

Anyhow, I knew about the Jamie Lynn Spears pregnancy very early yesterday morning. Spears, the 16 year old sister of Britney and star of a Nickelodeon show "Zoey 101", is more than 12 weeks pregnant.

I have 4 kids, including 3 daughters,so I'm not going to judge too harshly while I knock on wood. Mind you, knowing their parent's sex drive, I've often said the minute they have their period the girls are going on the shot. Heck, I'd put Smiley on the shot if there was a male equivalent.

I don't want any grandbabies out of wedlock.

That being said, mistakes happen. Hard to believe in an age where condoms are cool and 8 dozen different methods of birth control are available, but then again some folks electrocute themselves watching TV in the bathtub.

So no, I'm not going to blast her or her family. And the 'redneck wh*re' comments that follow some news articles are living proof that allowing the public to instantly respond to hard news stories (see CNN.com) is idiotic.

But . . to quote the article:

"It was a shock for both of us, so unexpected," she said. "I was in complete and total shock and so was he."

This isn't The Blue Lagoon. She didn't grow up on a desert island without adults or the media. Presuming she isn't an utter and complete moron she is at least vaguely aware of how babies are made.

So all well and good that you decided to keep the baby even at the cost of your fledgling acting career. I admire your pluck. But don't sell me that crock of sh** explanation.

Let me be both blunt and crass, so anyone with sensitive ears walk away:

Jamie: : You [bleep]ed a guy without a rubber, he left a [bleep] behind and you got pregnant.

If you are going to face the music, might as well admit you helped pick the song.

But seriously, good luck and God bless to her. I hope they wind up happy and well adjusted.

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While I'm on a roll, let me say I'm disgusted by the current U.S. Cellular commercial.

In it a woman explains that her Dad is illiterate and that she worried about him when she went to college. Thank heavens for U.S. Cellular tho', because the helpful staff at their store is willing to read him his mail whenever he wants. 

It's almost beyond words. I want to vomit. I want to boycott them. I want to curse the ad agency who wrote it and the schmucks who signed off on it.

It is 2007. LEARN TO READ YOU BLEEPING BLEEP. And yes, some people fall behind and skate by in school and wind up screwed and illeterate as adults. In fact I know a man my father's age who is illiterate

.Tough s**t.

If it's a matter of pride, what's worse - having your daughter read you your mail or asking a tutor for help? What's worse - admitting you can't read or not being able to follow a menu? What's a better way to spend your time - watching the NFL network or trying to improve yourself?

Spare me.

Barring severe learning problems - no, even with them, although with more empathy - there is no excuse not to learn to read sometime in your life.

And shame on U.S. Cellular for pretending it's OK.

Maybe this civilization is on the way out after all.

 

Pay a Visit. . .

Folks, I honestly suck at leaving/writing comments. It just doesn't come naturally to me. So I'm asking anyone out there to please stop by the journal of Slapinons regular psychfun. She was in an SUV rollover, although thankfully not hurt too bad.

Wish her the best and say a prayer for her (both of thanks for getting out alive and of hope there's no lingering effects). .

 

Santa and our 1st Ever Real Tree

We just passed the 50% return rate on our Christmas Cards - 55 out (a short list this year) and 30 in.

[In '04 I wrote about our love of Christmas cards. This post prompted a hissy from a co-worker who found my practice objectionable. I really have no point behind bringing this up, other than to link to the post, so let's move on.]

* * * * *

We once again attended my life insurance companies' Breakfast w/ Santa, which has deteriorated from a catered pancake breakfast with wrapped gifts for the kids to a homemade breakfast, to Pizza w/ Santa, to the current 'Decorate Cookies with Santa' and unwrapped gifts.

I fear the tradition's time is short.

Here's a link to last year's post. This year the kids came straight from Grandma's so no one was dressed to the nines.

But, this year's gig turned out to be more fun for the kids than expected.

These are the first ever pics of the Slapinions 4 with Santa, and to date the latest.

By the gift room there was a photo collage of the company's history (my Great-Grandfather was around for the founding, and my paternal Grandmother was Women's President). Here's a photo of them, my Grandparents being 3rd and 4th from the left.  [happy Katie? lol]

the kids colored in Catholic/Polish coloring books that were provided.

Smiley got a Barrel of Monkeys

LuLu got a mini Cabbage Patch doll

and YaYa got a Pretty Pretty Princess game.

Lauren was shafted. 90 years of involvement in the company and they wouldn't take my word on the fact that a policy was on the way for her. They aren't very friendly to me and my family, although my section of the clan hasn't done anything to them.

I was in a bit of a foul mood afterwards but quickly cheered up when we decided to get my FIRST EVER real Christmas tree. The kids were against it, quoting my Mom's anti-real tree propaganda (We'll get Ants!) but the experience of choosing the tree changed their minds.

Cost us $31, but the experience was worth it.

We took it home and put it in a chrome tree stand my wife's maternal Grandfather had used. So both our tree stands - one for real, one for artificial - both came from our respective grandparents.

Here's an early shot of the tree, with some decorations (not all). Watering it is a pain, and the pine smell is not nearly as intense as I thought it'd be, but it is still looking sharp and beautiful.

LOL, actually the pic looked a whole lot better on the camera. It must have been taken very early in the process, before things were straigtened, primped, etc. Trust me - it's an attractive tree.

Not sure what way we'll go in the future, but I'm glad our first Christmas in this house features my first ever real tree.