Just gave a hitchhiker a ride, which would be a first for me. He came begging for a lift at a gas station, drunk and stranded at 7 at night. Gotta love the South Side.

My Morning

Took the kids to school, went to Mass (Feast of the Immaculate Conception), shoveled my walk, now writing and working up the nerve to hit the road to get some things done. Or, I may nap. Either/or.

A Great Morning

An unusually quiet and Hallmark-y morning, with Lisa sitting with the two oldest girls in the living room, teaching them to sew so they can make their own costumes from some old sheets they found. Oh, and 'Bama crushed Florida. What a nice weekend so far.

I am Legend

Not the movie folks, the book.

This is the famous work by Richard Matheson that has inspired three major movies - one with Vincent Price, one with Charlton Heston, and of course the latest with Will Smith.

Robert Neville is a husband and father in the L.A. area when mankind is wiped out by a plague that turns its victims into modern day vampires. Neville is the last known survivor of the human race, presumably because he recovered from a vampire bat bite while in the service. For three years he makes a virtual fortress of his home and wages war against the vampires, until it becomes clear that he is the oddity. As the only remaining human, the only objection to the 'new race', he is, in fact, a monster. He has become, as Dracula once was, something to fear in the night.

He is legend.

Matheson's gone on record as saying the book was just what is seems on the surface, and nothing more. Yet I have read academic essays that ran thousands of words and placed the book behind only Moby Dick and Tom Sawyer in the realm of American literature.

That's nuts.

It's a fine novella, but it has plenty of flaws. Some can't be helped: references to a nuclear exchange between the U.S. and Soviets, dates that have long since passed, etc. Others are silly. Matheson has a habit of trying to rationalize his books with pseudo-scientific explanations. That vampire bat bite, for instance, or a goofy description of how vampire's gummy blood seals bullet holes.

It was giggle-worthy science in the '50's. Now it's just foolish.

[if I may drift into adult territory here: for much of the early part of the novella Neville is very horny, and understandably so. But here's where the '50's culture constricts the character. The guys aroused, he's been without sex for years, he's so horny female vampires are looking hot, and to settle the matter he goes and takes cold shower after cold shower.

For pete's sake man, rub one out.]

As I mentioned, I am Legend is a novella, not a full scale work. Nearly half the book is comprised of short stories. Some are good (Mad House), some are ho-hum, and one (Person to Person) is damn good.

Not a book for everyone and every taste, but I enjoyed it.

Joey McIntyre's New Single - "Here we Go Again"

Joe Mac is back, and with a pretty damn catchy song. He is (or will be) on tour to back the album, and will be in Chicago Jan 20th.

This is the official video, and Lisa, ever the New Kid fan, was visibly upset to see Joe's face take a punch in the shoot, staged or not. LOL :)



While we're at it, here's "I love you Came too Late" from his "Stay the Same" album



and "Rain", from his follow-up

YaYa's Baseball Season

This summer we signed YaYa up for baseball through the Milwaukee Rec Division. It took place every Saturday morning for a few hours, smacking headfirst into work schedules, so a variety of folks helped us make sure she made it to each game: my Dad, Tre, and my mother-in-law. Thanks to them all.



The pictures you see here were taken throughout the summer, and I can't lay claim to remembering what game goes with what shot. She hit well in every game I attended, and most (if not all) the games I missed. As a for instance, she went 2 for 3 with a double and 2 RBI's in the first game of the season, and followed it up with a 1 for 4 game with another double and a RBI. That meant she entered the third week of the season with a .429 batting average, two doubles, and three runs batted in.

And yet, after that second game, she cried. It takes a while to get used to the idea that success in baseball is measured not by eliminating failure, but by accepting it as a result seven times out of ten.







(this next one is from a practice)





















YaYa often had a cheering section







but I will admit to one slight episode of parental rage. During the first practice this fat kid started picking on YaYa, covering up his own insecurity by berating her because of her gender. "Why bother swinging, you're a girl. What are you doing here anyway?" etc. On and on for the whole first hour.

Well screw that. I don't know why the coaches or his Dad didn't shut him up, but YaYa was getting visibly upset. I barked out her name and motioned her over.

"Is that kid bothering you?" I said. She nodded.

"Forget him. Do you understand me? [redacted] him. He's nothing. Girls can play baseball just as well as boys, especially one of my girls. The next time he opens his [bleep] mouth I want you to think about how fat he is, and how much he'll huff and puff just trying to run the bases. Ugh, look at him, he's already sweating through his shirt! Just think of that and ask yourself if that's the kind of yahoo you need to worry about. You understand?"

Don't mess with my kid.

She grinned. And damn if she didn't get back on the field and improve dramatically. I think she actually giggled in the boy's direction after a few comments, and after awhile the kid moved on to easier prey.

At the end of the season, on the day of Ginger's second birthday party, everyone was awarded a medal for their participation.





Great season YaYa!

Today

 Afternoon everyone, busy night for me, daisies and the four kids alone at Smiley's "winter fun night"....fun huh? Need to get my Christmas deco. up b4 st nicks....Dec if flying by and shopping isn't completed yet, ugh! Have a great day fb friends! - Lisa

Books Read - 2003

Here's a list of books I read in 2003. Note the consistent binge-purge method; I fall in love with an author, consume his back catalog, and then move on. Ditto for non-fiction subjects, as you'll see with my Vietnam fetish in '03.

1. A Mist of Prophesies by Steven Saylor
2. Shooting at Midnight by Greg Rucka
3. Batman: No Man’s Land by Greg Rucka
4. Critical Space by Greg Rucka
5. Big Thaw by Donald Harstad - great writer. should be better known
6. Six Easy Pieces by Walter Mosley
7. Black Powder, White Smoke
8. The Stranglers
9. Chasing the Dime by Michael Connelly
10. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
11. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
12. Dead Cert by Dick Francis
13. The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
14. The Crossroads of Twillight by Robert Jordan
15. In Conquest Born by CS Friedman - NOTE: I'd owned this one for years, having scooped it up based on a recommendation in a Waldenbooks newsletter in the '80's. A damn fine novel.
16. A Shortcut in Time by Charles Dickenson
17. Small Town by Lawrence Block
18. ’46 Chicago by Steve Monroe
19. Nick’s Trip by George Pelecanos
20. The Big Blowdown by George Pelecanos
21. The Last Detective by Robert Crais
22. Six Silent Men by Gary Linderer
23. Last Man Out: A personal account of the Vietnam War by James E Parker Jr.
24. Back Story by Robert B Parker
25. A Soldier Reports by Westmoreland
26. Vantage Point by LBJ
27. Reaching for glory : Lyndon Johnson's secret White House tapes, 1964-1965 / edited and with commentary by Michael Beschloss.
28. Lost Light by Michael Connelly
29. Autobiography of a One-Year Old by Rohan Candappa
30 The da Vinci Code by Dan Brown - drivel. Poorly done drivel and I don't care what anyone says on the matter.
31. Sharpe’s Havoc by Bernard Cornwell
32. In his Image
33. Sharpe’s Honour by Bernard Cornwell
34. TimeShare: A Time for War by Joshua Dann
35. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
36.Timeshare by Joshua Dann
37.Timeshare: Second Time Around by Joshua Dann
38. Cold Pursuit by T. Jefferson Parker
39. Ruled Britannia by Harry Turtledove
40. The Haunted Air by F Paul Wilson
41. Legacies by F. Paul Wilson
42. Conspiracies by F. Paul Wilson
43.All the Rage by F Paul Wilson
44.Hosts by F. Paul Wilson
45.The Tomb by F.Paul Wilson
46. The Touch by F Paul Wilson
47.Reborn by F Paul Wilson
48.Reprisal by F Paul Wilson
49.Nightworld by F Paul Wilson
50. The Face by Dean Koontz
51. The Marine by James Brady
52.Naked Empire by Terry Goodkind
52.Icarus by Russell Andrews
53.Stone Cold by Robert B Parker
54.Naked Prey by John Sandford
55.A fistful of Rain by Greg Rucka
56.The Quick Red Fox by John D. MacDonald
57. Such Men are Dangerous by Lawrence Block
58. Heretic by Bernard Cornwell
59. A Long December by Donald Harstad
60. Persuader by Lee Child
61. Running Blind by Lee Child
62.Killing Floor by Lee Child
63. Die Trying by Lee Child
64. Flown Away by Max Allan Collins
65.True Detective by Max Allan Collins
66. True Crime by Max Allan Collins
67. Flying Blind by Max Allan Collins
68. Gateways by F. Paul Wilson
69. The Million Dollar Wound by Max Allan Collins
70. Angel in Black by Max Allan Collins
71. Blood and Thunder by Max Allan Collins
72. Magic Man by Max Allan Collins
73. Echo Burning by Lee Child
74.Without Fail by Lee Child
75. Auto Focus: The Murder of Bob Crane by Robert Graysmith
76. Screwball by David Ferrell
77.Kisses of Death by Max Allan Collins
78.The Hanged Man’s Song by John Sandford
79. Ghost Story by Peter Straub - one of my top 10 faves of all time

Grumble grumble

OK, enough already. I don't know what's up with Blogger's "Scheduled" function, but on at least three occasions in the last week I've gone to bed having made sure nothing will run for a week or more, then find a random post published.

I truly don't think its user error at this point, so I may just let 'er rip, post everything, and be done with it. Bleepin' Google. This is why I Bing.

Partial list of Books Read 2004

Books Read 2004


Floating Dragon by Peter Straub
Koto by Peter Straub
Mystery by Peter Straub
The Throat by Peter Straub
Julia by Peter Straub
Shadowland by Peter Straub
Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga by Stephen Davis
The Day the Music Died: The Last tour of Buddy Holly, The B.B., and Ritchie Valens Larry Lehmer
Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson
Bad Business by Robert B Parker
Shall we Tell the President? By Jeffrey Archer
A Marginal Jew V1 Joseph P. Maier
If You Could See Me Now by Peter Straub
The Hellfire Club by Peter Straub
The Birth of the Messiah: A commentary on the Infancy Narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke by Raymond E Brown