Dinner out on Friday

Friday night, after YaYa came home from the hospital and we braved driving in a downpour, we took all the kids and their cousin out for dinner.

Our original intention was to visit Shakey's one last time, because that morning we'd read in the paper that it was closing its doors. But most of Milwaukee read of it too, and the line was out the door, so I promised my wife we'd go when they opened in the morning if we could just go somewhere else that night.

We wound up at Baker's Square.

A good meal all the way around, with some memorable moments. LuLu had me take turns coloring with her - she'd do one spot, then I'd do one, etc, which was sweet.

YaYa wanted to play tic-tac-toe, and damned if she didn't legitimately beat me in the first 4 of 5 contests! Time and again I thank God I went to college.

Lump ate like a champ, and Smiley, who is now completely potty-trained (and all on his own too!) asked me to take him to the restroom. While we were in there he whipped it out and used the urinal and I was so proud I told a guy at the sink the news.

But when I got back to the table Lis informed that not only wasn't it his first time using a urinal, it was the only way he'd pee at school.

"Huh," I said. "Makes the pictures I took seem kinda inappropriate now, eh?"

Again, a very good time. Their cousin stayed overnight and predictably they all caused trouble rather than go to sleep, but give me credit where it's due. I am slowly becoming less of a pushover and got them separated and asleep in short order.

Before bed the kids all watched The Wizard of Oz (remember?). They do this crazy thing whenever they watch a movie, tv show, commercial, or whatever. They immediately assign a role to each other ("I'm the Tinman" "I'm Dorothy!" etc) and often fight over it as if it truly matters.

To flesh out her 'role' of Toto LuLu grabbed a Halloween costume from the basement.

Which Smiley later appropriated

Finally, here's Lump and her cousin

The Savages - and I don't mean Chicagoans (this time)

                

I will never understand Hollywood's recent obsession with casting every movie as a hyphen-comedy. I suppose it must be out of fear that the public won't accept a pure drama or romance, or whatever, and so they must be lured in by a trailer sprinkled with funny lines.

The Savages is a perfect example. It was billed as a dark comedy, but it is anything but. Does it have some rare moments of humor? Sure, because it's realistic and in life all but the very worst moments can feature a smidgen of laughter. But a comedy by any definition? Not at all.

The movie tells the tale of a brother and sister who assume guardianship of their estranged father, now suffering from dementia and a fatal illness.  The brother, played by Phillip Seymour-Hoffman, is unable to commit to a woman he loves and is professionally stagnant, while the sister, ably played by Laura Linney, has no career and is sleeping with a married man. Together they must navigate the hurdles of caring for their Dad while adjusting to the abrupt re-introduction of family into their lives.

It is a grim movie in many ways, but solid and true to the path these characters would take in real life. Hoffman is just superb, a true craftsman, and it was a joy to watch him at work.

If there were any flaws, I'd have to say the subplot with the married man was a little too obvious an ode to the damage caused by her parent's violent marriage and subsequent abandonment.. But that, in all honesty, is 1/100th of the movie and barely worth a whisper of complaint.

3.5 stars out of 4, 80 out of 100

On Tim Rice, John Rambo, and a statement on religion to kick off July!

 I watched an unusual combination Monday. First, at YaYa's request she and a friend put on the 2000 Glenn Carter version of Jesus Christ Superstar.

I much prefer the light-hearted but spiritual Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, and I will say it again: Tim Rice's lyrics are what made these musicals, not Webber's music. But after viewing Superstar for the first time since the early '80's, I have to say it wasn't half bad.

It was too secular at times for my taste, never expliciting showing his divinity, but unlike contemporary protests about the musical I don't object to Judas' portrayal. I've always thought that there must be a more complex reason than greed behind the betrayal of his friend and mentor. Not an excuse mind you, but a reason, and the fears expressed in the movie are certainly one option.

Still, it got me thinking. To a degree I feel that anger towards Judas, at least in the here and now, is meaningless. At the time, sure, and I'm not saying he shouldn't rot in hell. But in hindsight he had his role to play, a neccessary one, and he fufilled it.

Was it preordained? Was he chosen as an apostle with the knowledge that it would set in motion these events? Did his betrayal change the dynamic of the group to such an extent that Simon Peter was free to ascend to a leadership role as head of the church? How would the group and the church have evolved if another had been the betrayer? Was he acting of free will (my vote) or asa pawn of the drama that was to unfold? If the latter he must be absolved of the sin, for he was not acting of his own voltion. And on the cross, when Jesus asked his Father to forgive those who killed him, wouldn't that include Judas' soul?

As for the movie itself, I thought the actor who played Judas was superb, Glenn Carter's Jesus less so, and the actress playing Mary Magdalene (patron saint of the church where I was married) was both beautiful and gifted with an equally impressive voice.

* * * *

                                          

And then, in a 180 degree turnaround, I watched Rambo (alone). This time Rambo escorts a group of Christian missionaries into war torn Burma, and when they face enslavement and torture he does what he does best to get them out.

Allright: first off, Stallone is a heck of a director. Forget his writing (which can be great or poor, depending on the day) and his acting. As a director I think he staged this movie beautifully and artfully, and kudos to him on that.

On the other hand it was bloody as hell and featured 3x as many killings as the other Rambo flicks combined, at least according to an internet source.

I will go on record though as saying that it seems far less violent than its predecessors, in part because very little of the violence (none that I can think of actually) is for sh**'s and giggles.

The persecution of Burmese Christians is brutal and repressive, but CERTAINLY far gentler than the reality some of the people there face. The rescue attempt is matter of fact without excess gore, and the finale . . well there's not much you can say to soften the finale. It makes Saving Private Ryan seem like Toy Story,  but it's a legitimate battle between two large groups, not a one man wrecking crew.

Rambo's character is changed by the events of the movie, as is the character of the missionaries.It's a shame the villian is never fleshed out, because it had the makings of a decent flick.

3 out of 4, 75 out of 100. MUCH better than I expected. 

* * *

Let me say something else. I don't care what your religious beliefs are. I'm Catholic and I have friends and acquaintances who are Pentecostal, Atheist, Agnostic, Mormon, Muslim, Hindu, and Lutheran. Live and let live.

But not everyone feels that way, and time and again I'm struck by the naivety of good people. It's the old example of expecting someone to tell the truth just because you yourself  would never lie in that situation. That's foolish, and just a fancy way of projecting your beliefs and mindset on someone else.

Our own tolerance of other religions in no way guarantees the same respect in return.

At the risk of sounding like a religious nut* I do feel Christianity is under attack and that the majority of believers sit by and let it happen. Across the globe Christians are persecuted and killed and we gloss over it, either because Christians were 'responsible' for such killings in centuries(!) past and we have a guilt complex, or because it isn't PC to just flat out say: Hey, Muslims are killing Christians in X and Communists are doing the same in Y. And heaven forbid we object when someone says "And, oh, by the way, don't you dare talk about Christ but um, I'm gonna wear my veil to work so, uh, tough."

Even here at home we suck it up, afraid of sounding like some old bitty that sends her pension check to the 700 Club. My favorite lurking ground over at Baseball Think Factory recently had a message board thread that wandered off into religious ground. Of the nearly 100 comments I read many were apathetic towards or slightly against Christianity . A vocal minority was VERY anti-Christian. Not anti-religion, but strictly and explicity anti-Christian. On a baseball site.

They listed many of the tired 'guilt' reasons of old, ranging from the Templars to the American West, but in the end it's all crap.**

It's just  cool to bash Christianity because we roll over just swell, like a well trained doggie.

Ugh. Stand your ground. If one of my agnostic friends wanders off into anti-Christian statements, I won't back off a debate. When the Pentecostals get frisky and start tossing around 'Papist' I get frisky back. It doesn't mean you can't hang out and play XBox afterwards. There's nothing uncivil about civilized debate.

After all, what's the point of believing anything if you don't believe in it strongly enough to say so?

*Which a certain Pentecostal at work would say is crazy, because I playfully enjoy the role of agnostic questioner with her whenever we go on break together

** I have the sneaking suspicion that all those fervent guilt/hate spreaders had great-great-grand pappy's who were ever so eager to burn the local synagogue to the ground or toss around measles to the natives. Hate begets hate, it rides in your blood if you're not careful. Nowadays its just more acceptable to hate religion than the black guy down the road, that's all.

On Rain and Motherhood

Man that Lump's a light sleeper. She was sound asleep when I tucked YaYa in and crept down the stairs. I made one little peep and she was on her feet, head leaning over the crib rail to look at me, a wail starting in her throat. She looked just like those little birds yesterday, and just like I did with them I walked away.

Never wake a sleeping baby, and if you do, run like hell.

* * * *

It's official. June of 2008 is far and away Milwaukee's rainiest month in recorded history.

As of this morning we took in an official 12.27 inches of rain, beating the old record (set in 1917) by more than two inches.

Is it any wonder a lot of this city was flooded in recent weeks? It was dry today, but rained yesterday and more is expected before the 4th.

Keep the ponchos and sump pumps handy.

Milwaukee's 10 rainiest months

June 2008 - 12.27 inches
June 1917 - 10.03 inches
June 1997 - 9.98 inches
Sept. 1941 - 9.87 inches
May 1933 - 9.56 inches
Sept. 1961 - 9.41 inches
Aug. 1987 - 9.05 inches
Aug. 1986 - 8.82 inches
Sept. 1872 - 8.72 inches
Nov. 1934 00 8.56 inches
Source: National Weather Service

* * * *

For the record: I do a lot with my kids and I try to be a good and active Dad, but I blog (naturally) from my own experiences. I am with the kids from 4:30 until their bedtime most days, and a lot of those days I'm not the only parent around.

My wife, on the other hand,  is with them from 7 am until bedtime, with her only respite being when she goes to work a 'real' job in the evenings, or when I can con a set of Grandparent's into taking one kids off our hands on a weekend (God forbid we ever get rid of all four).

She's the one who is the girl scout leader, and plans the parties, and takes them to the park and the pools, and soothes their scraped knees.

Not me.

So hats off to her, she does a great job.

Now, back to praising me . . .

The Baby Birds in our Backyard

A few years ago my wife bought me a wooden bird feeder for Father's Day. It was a gift straight out of left field, but to continue the baseball lingo, it was also a home run. It remains one of the most enjoyable gifts I've ever received. Just this afternoon I walked out on my front porch and had a handful of birds, a rabbit, and a squirrel flee from the feeder at the sound of my approach.

"It's like a scene from Enchanted" I told the kids, and you know, it really was. Heck, even Milwaukee's own McDreamy (moi) was there.

This summer I added a homemade birdhouse to the mix. We even painted it to match the house colors.

Sadly, no bird chose to make it their home. No, instead they chose to infiltrate my shed and set up shop atop my ladder.

I was going to remove the nest but when I tried I saw a blue robins egg inside. So it stayed, and every time I need something from in there I have to put up with a squawking, dive bombing bird.

This morning Lis sent me out to photograph the eggs (from a respectable distance to avoid ticking off the momma) and I got a shock - the nest was now full of baby birds!

The momma sat annoyed on a nearby telephone wire with a bug hanging from it's beak, waiting to feed her young. Meanwhile the kids were thrilled

whereas half of me was proud of our contribution to wildlife conservation, and the other 50% of my brain was ticked off that these squatters aren't paying rent.

NKOTB Album Info

Ok, from what I can find online the release date for the new NKOTB album will be September 8th.

That info is courtesy of a May 30th article in Billboard.

To quote the article (edited by me, so go read the real deal):

Both the band and the label [Interscope] describe the deal as a "partnership." One source close to the deal notes that the label will partake in merchandise and touring revenue."We were driven by the music," group member Joey McIntyre tells Billboard of the decision to reunite. "Donnie [Wahlberg] and I both live in L.A., and we have had conversations about the offers we've gotten in the past. This time around, Donnie was the loudest and pushed the hardest in terms of getting going on the music. His excitement was really infectious."EM>

"Our friends' kids are listening to the tracks, and they are excited," says group member Jordan Knight. "We don't come across as old guys on the record, and songs like "Summertime" have a great, '80s vibe that can be enjoyed by everyone."

Of course things might have changed since May 30th, and to me a September release date seems awfully late in the game when you've had a single out for months, but what do I know?

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YaYa's Stiches

Friday, in the midst of that fax fiasco, my wife called to tell me that YaYa had fallen off her bike and might need 'one or two' stitches on her chin. It turns out she needed four.

Not counting surgical stitches, she now has had way more stitches I've ever needed. And it's not her first set of stitches either. Easter Sunday of '04 or '05 she fell down my Mom's front steps and needed multiple stitches above her eyebrow, sticking her tongue out at the doc as he did it. As with that time, she went through it Friday without tears or complaint, which is more than I did with my stiches of two years ago :)

However she is angry that their location makes it look like she has 'whiskers'.

Thursday's Dinner Out with the Family

You'll note I'm very trigger happy with the camera phone pictures lately. Part of that is a genuine joy at having the ability to visually document my day at any given moment. And part of it is because the rechargeable batteries on my digital camera seem to have come to the end of their life and I have yet to buy replacements.

On Thursday, to make up for his being ill on LuLu's birthday,  my father-in-law treated us to a dinner out at a nice Italian restaurant in the neighborhood.

The food was great, the kids were ok (on behavior I'd grade them a B to B+ actually) but I was wigging out. I can't count how many times we all seem to sit on the precipice, that frail little edge between good behavior and complete meltdown. I'm always surprised, and pleasantly so, when the kids pull it together we walk away with manners and sanity intact.

That happened here, but for whatever reason - lousy day at work, crowded table, bunions - I couldn't recognize that we were doing well until late in the game.

One funny moment: the restaurant was nearly empty at the start of our meal when the hostess seated a nicely dressed couple at the table right next to us. With my step-mother-in-law's encouragement I leaned over, pointed out my four kids, and encouraged them to select another table. They thanked me and did so.

On the way out I took the kids home while Lis stopped to chat with her Dad. Outside the door LuLu fell and skinned her knee and I had to carry her home, and Smiley NEVER likes being separated from his Mom so that was an issue, but it all went well in the end.

Oh, almost forgot. LuLu got a Barbie scooter from them for her birthday.

A very nice time indeed.

A thank you to Bucko

 

I was very pleased to have been chosen by Ken (aka Bucko) as one of his Guest Editor picks this week. This is what he had to say about me:

 

Dan, of Slapinions, is from Milwaukee and has opinions on many things, ranging from fatherhood, sports, movie reviews, and anything else that strikes his fancy :o)  My impression is an all around NICE guy!

 

Ha! I'd love to see someone from work agree with that last bit!

 

Still, a bit of poor timing on my part. Had I known new blood would be visiting I'd have held off on the last rant, which predictably drew some PC ire in the comment section. Not that I minded (keep it civil and you can say what you like) but I have enough PR sense to have given folks a more pleasing sample as a looksee. Oh well, que Sera Sera and all that.

 

(Ok, I'm back. I smelled something burning and went to check. The kids, left alone to watch the Wizard of Oz, decided to set the thermostat for 90 and the furnace kicked in with that wicked '1st fire of the season' stench. [redacted] kids)

 

It's been a lousy couple of days at work. I accomplished a lot on Thursday, including fixing a 'long thought lost' piece of equipment, yet was caught off guard when the owner asked about the one thing that had escaped my attention. Nice blow to the self-esteem there.

 

Then I was home free on Friday afteroon when our fax line went down and I spent a frustrated 90 minutes or so getting that (temporarily) fixed.

 

Today, on my day off, I got a few calls. On one call I was told about the following (trimmed so as to not give away the place or means of my employment, but it's too insane not to mention)

 

One of our employees quit because she claimed someone had tried to assassinate (ok, she said 'kill') her by leaving a cigarette lighter near a gas source at work. Not that anyone had dropped it, or left it behind, or anything innocent. No, it had to be an obvious attempt to recreate the murder scene from the original The Longest Yard. There could be no other explanation.

 

For pete's sake.

 

One bit of good news. On Friday a logo I designed for the state highway project met with the excited approval of some key players on the committee. Once I have a professional version created it stands a good chance of finding its way into many facets of the re-design.

 

Or not. We'll see. But I was more than happy with the initial reaction to it.

 

Oh, and today is the birthday of a manager at work, one who is very upset that she is now halfway to 60 and 33% of the way to 90 . .but I will abide by her wishes and not list her name. Happy Birthday Jane Doe!

 

I just heard Dorothy talking to Aunt Em about Oz, and Lump just crawled by bare-butt. Both are signs I need to get off the computer.

 

Later.

Catch and Release, and a piggish rant too!

             

Catch and Release is a romantic comedy featuring Jennifer Garner. In it she plays a woman whose fiance dies shortly before their wedding. Heartbroken and unable to pay her rent she moves into the house he shared with two male roommates. Over the course of the movie she comes to realize that her perfect fiance was far the man she thought he was, keeping secrets big and small from her. In an attempt to set things right romance blossoms from an unexpected source and she beings the long process of putting her life back together. 

Well, I shouldn't say the romance came from an 'unexpected' source, since I'm sure you can see the (awkward) love interest from the get-go. Still, a fine little movie that will entertain you but little more. It tries for 'deep' emotional responses from the audience and largely fails, but no matter, what's left is good enough.

2.5 out of 4, or 65 out of 100.

* * * * *

I must mention two largely immature reactions I had to the movie.

First Kevin Smith, who plays one of the roommates, has really put on weight. Smith, you may recall, is the director/co-star of Clerks, Dogma, etc  but sticks to a purely acting role here.

Hey I'm a big guy and I probably look as big or bigger than Smith, but he appears so large that his movements on screen legitimately seem, I don't know, physically  painful for him.

Second, I am sick and tired of people pretending Juliette Lewis is attractive. She is not. Her face, if you want to be PC about it, is 'unconventional', but let's just cut to the chase. She's ugly. She's a female Steve Buscemi without the talent.

(of course when I looked for pics online I couldn't find many that feature the true Joan Cusack-ness of her face, given that most sites prefer to post pictures of her half-naked, so this will have to do)

Yet she continually gets acting jobs, and moreover gets jobs where she's supposedly just the bomb diggity. Jennifer Garner calls her 'really hot' in this movie. Jennifer Garner! She must have been giggling inside when she had to deliver those lines. And that awful voice!

Must I poke out both my eardrums AND my eyes when she's in a movie?