Our First Family Fun Night

In the midst of our first family fun night . . . homemade tacos, now getting ready to play Topple and Go Fish

Irresponsible

I think it's appalling that 'legitimate' media outlets like CNN and CBS are using gossip sites like TMZ as official sources and then running pieces with no legitimacy . . do I think Brittany Murphy died of drugs? Probably. But I wouldn't write a headline piece about it just because a quack on TMZ (who didn't know her or work on the case) said it "must have been drugs".

 I think I'll feel more Christmasy after the house is clean, so that's the goal for today! - Lisa

News of the Weird

 BOSTON (Dec. 22) -- Police say a frustrated Boston woman called 911 to say she couldn't get her 14-year-old son to stop playing video games and go to sleep.

Ready for Xmas?

School programs done? check. Tree up? check. Presents? check. First holiday party? Check......Ready for Christmas? Hell no....lol. - Lisa

FYI

Just received word I'll be in the Journal again on Christmas Day. You've got plenty of notice, so no excuses for not buying a paper that day :)  That'll be the 13th or 14th column of the year for me. Kinda neat it's happened so often I've lost count.

My mother in law is coming home today....poor thing two of my kids are there to "welcome" her....muhahaha.....j/k...they won't be there too long, school tomorrow! Besides it's the two easier ones....that's not saying much, but still! - Lisa

Another Stupid List - Concerts I've seen

I'm not a big concert person, so don't expect a long list here. I don't like crowds, I don't appreciate start times that mean "two hours from the time printed on the ticket" and I don't like artists who F with their songs on stage in the name of 'art'.

Alice In Chains
Kenny Rogers
Creed
Tina Turner
Madonna
Bare Naked Ladies
Prince
New Kids on the Block
Cyndi Lauper
Billy Ray Cyrus
Black 47
Belinda Carlisle
Liz Phair
Dada
Joey McIntyre
Jordan Knight
Alanis Morrisette

I Love You, Man

"Jesus," Lisa said. "It's like they made a movie about you!"

Not true, I countered. Yes, "I Love you Man!" features a protagonist who is more comfortable among women than men, who hangs out at home with his lady rather than goes out with the boys, who doesn't drink often, and who.

But, I countered, unlike him I do have male friends, and rattled off a list.

"But you don't go hang out with them," Lisa said, "That's why your All-Star party is so important to you. It's the one time a year you do the guy thing."

"But that's my choice," I said. "It's different."

And so it is. Later in the film, however, it's revealed that the main character often slips into a cadence that resembles an Irish lilt. Lisa roared.

"That is SO YOU!"

I'll give her that. For some reason, I have developed a verbal tic where I slip into the same speech pattern. It's nuts, and I've been raked over the coals for it.

Anywho . . .

The great Paul Rudd plays Peter Klaven, all around nice guy without any male friends, and at the urging of his fiance he goes in search of a buddy to be the best man at his wedding. He finds him in the form of Sydney Fife, played by Jason Segal, and the two hit it off. Too well, as a matter of fact, because his fiance soon gets jealous. Will Klaven have keep his friend and his wife? Or will he have to choose between them both?

I thought this was a very good movie, and very funny at times. Segal is a little too laid back for the role, IMO, as you'd think it would take a complete extrovert to draw Klaven out, and not merely a more masculine introvert. There was also, as his fiance points out, a degree of awkward sexual tension between the two that seemed out of place at best.

Small potatoes really. An enjoyable film, and a 3.1 out of 4.

Tropic Thunder

This movie has everything it takes to implode the head of a Politically Correct watchdog.

There's an actor in blackface, a movie-in-a-movie portrayal of a mentally retarded man, a heroin addicted comedian who specializes in farts, a Jewish executive who's greedy and obnoxious, the kiling of a giant panda, and a whole mess of drug peddling violent South East Asians.

Yikes.

Tropic Thunder is a film about a Vietnam movie being filmed on location. Unbeknownst to the actors they are no longer part of an experimental film technique, they're actually at war with a local drug cartele. Hijinks ensue.

I thought it was a blast, a solid if not spectacular chuckler from beginning to end. And the cast was top notch - Robert Downey (who was great), Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Nick Nolte, Matthew McCaughnahay (sp?), and Tom Cruise (in a great part as the movie exec).

The drawbacks to the film are readily apparent and irrelevant - what, you wanted a complex plot and romance? - and shouldn't hold you back from seeing this movie.

2.5 out of 4.

Only One Left Tonight!

Down three for a minute tonight and into the morning, very excited! Anyone want a 2 year old, make it down to none? NOW THAT'S A FEAT! - Lisa

Yippee!

 The robotic rodent race was won! Thanks to the hubby for going to Toys R Us at the butt crack of dawn, lol. We have succeeded in not paying over retail for those fuzzy little hamsters that have made so many others go broke paying 3-4x what retail was! Sad so many people had to buy them up to make a profit. Hopefully the same thing will happen to them next year when their kid wants the "must have" toy of the year! - Lisa

Barbie - a rejected Journal column

Bratz - a rejected Journal column

On the day my first community columnist piece was published (an article on swim safety on a cold and snowy day; - how’s that for timing?) the Journal-Sentinel ran a column directly above my own. Written by Jonathon V Last of the Philadelphia Inquirer, it traced the messy battle between the makers of the Bratz line of dolls and the Barbie empire.

It was a fine article, one that hit a nerve in my house. We’ve been discussing the mammoth decision against MGA Entertainment, the makers of Bratz, for some time now. To greatly simplify the issue, after winning a court decision in their favor Barbie’s owners at Mattel want all Bratz merchandise removed from store shelves. The action would remove the most serious threat in years to Barbie’s domination of the market.

It also greatly worries the resident seven-year old Bratz fan in my house.

That last sentence is what worries me. Just by admitting, - in print no less - that my daughter likes Bratz I’m inviting trouble. To some people that’s no better than bragging that I let her juggle steak knives (and obviously, for the record, I don’t.)

My daughter has gone to birthday parties where the invitation clearly stated that no Bratz toys would be accepted, and she’s gone to homes where no such toys may cross their threshold. Fine. I have no objection to that. Every parent has the right to decide what is right and acceptable for their own child.

To me and my wife, that line in the sand doesn’t begin or end with a doll.

Bratz’ signature has always been funkier than good ol’ Barbie, and yes, to most critics that difference comes off as sexual. It’s an odd world that spends forty years decrying Barbie as a sexualized and unrealistic ideal, then decides to hold her up as a model citizen, but compared to Bratz Barbie comes off as your sweet Aunt Marie.

Bratz dolls dress funkier, they have more fashionable hairstyles, their tie-in merchandise is colorful and flashy, they’re urban rather than Malibu, and their feet pop off. You read that right. Rather than force tiny shoes on the doll, leaving a hundred lost pair around as a threat to my toddler, the makers of Bratz have the dolls switch out entire foot/shoe combinations.

Let’s see Barbie do that.

Those are some of the reasons why Bratz made such inroads into the market. It wasn’t about sex, and it certainly wasn’t to aspire to the ridiculous hyperbole labeling the doll‘s ‘streetwalkers’. It was because someone finally presented an alternative to their Grandmother’s increasingly bland and predictable Barbie.

As much heat as Bratz takes in the media, there must be a great and silent majority of parents who agree with me on the issue. After all, in 2005 sales of Bratz reached $750 million. They couldn’t all have been bought by ‘bad’ parents.

Who knows. Maybe once Mattel gobbles up the Bratz line it can use some of that revenue to give Barbie a makeover of her own - but, uh, maybe skip the bare midriff

Gosh Darn It

Spent all evening getting the house ready for a visit from Smiley's speech therapist, only to have her cxl this morning because of illness. Good luck keeping this house clean until the rescheduled appt.

Me and the Ginger

Night and Day

Night and Day is the latest in Robert B. Parker's series featuring Jesse Stone, former L.A. cop and (semi)recovering alcoholic who now heads the Paradise, MA police department.

Two related troubles are enveloping the town this time around. First, the female high school principal stands accused, correctly, of forcing her female students to display their underwear. More seriously, there is a peeping Tom on the loose, one whose activities grow bolder - and more violent - with each incident.

I wouldn't label this book a masterpiece of Parker's, but it was solid and entertaining. The characters seem to have worked their way into Parker's affection, to the point where I think he's finally comfortable exploring them to the fullest.

I continue to marvel at Parker's recent output, both in quantity and quality.

And best of all, there is (finally) a development between Jesse and his promiscuous ex-wife. No spoiler here - but I was pleased.

2.75 out of 4

A Bad Day

Pretty crappy night. Lisa broke her glasses, I lost five pages of newly written text due to gremlins in the computer, it's snowing, and As The World Turns was cancelled. :(

My Best Friends Girl

This movie stars Dane Cook.

What, you're still here?

Huh. I'd have thought you'd have 'x'd out the window at the mere mention of his name. I would.

Cook plays a man who is hired by other men to date their former girlfriends. The idea is that he'll pretend to be a callous, awful jerk and therefore drive them back into the arms of their better-by-comparison ex.

Okeedookee.

His buddy, played by Jason Biggs, hires him to push Kate Hudson into loving him, but of course Cook falls in love. Blah blah, yada yada, boy loses girl, act three begins, more blah blah roll credits.

I admit I'm being a little harsh here. It was an OK movie, but I thought some of the actions - namely his performance at a wedding - would be/should be clear and permanent deal breakers.

Rent it if you have some spare time - and a free movie coupon.

2.5 out of 4

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.

We Finally Have the Tree Up

Finally have the tree up, except for the finishing touches the kids will add when they get home from school. So glad it's done! I will say, I miss the real trees, this artificial one looks a little sad comparatively! - Lisa

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!