Towers of Midnight

Hot dog! The 13th Wheel of Time novel (Towers of Midnight) will be released the day after my anniversary, which should make it pretty easy for me to remember.

Baseball News - Good and Bad

The Missouri legislature has given approval to strip Mark McGwire's name from the highway they named in his honor. What a sh*t move. Ugh. On the other hand, former Brewers manager Ned Yost has been named the manager of the KC Royals. Congrats to Ned, and all the best.

Facebook March 1st - 4th

March 1st:

This is a hearbreaking story. I hope, in between tragedies, she had a good life.
Deaths make 4 generations of homicides, heartbreak

* The author of 'Gertie the Duck', Milwaukee native Nick Geoprgiady, has passed away. RIP.

* I pointed this out on their FB page & was labeled a troll, but it's the truth: the Milwaukee Public Library FB's nothing more than 'inpirational' quotes & links to Wikipedia entries - Dinah Shore (!) today. Isn't posting a daily Wikipedia entry just admitting "hey, we're irrelevant! Even we use the web to get our info!...". All those English majors and not one can write a FB status update?

* MPS, Ald. Willie Wade butt heads over hat-removal policy Aside from city official using the "Don't you know who I am?!" bit to try & get out of a jam, causing a ruckus at a high school, being escorted out by cops, etc there's this: it's rude to wear a hat indoors. It just is. Why don't you hold your fork like a shovel and chew with your mouth open while you're at it?

March 2nd:

Postal Service Seeks Permission to End Saturday Delivery

* Interesting. "The change is negligible, but permanent: Each day should be 1.26 microseconds shorter, according to preliminary calculations." Chile quake may have tipped Earth's axis

* [RE replacing Simon on AI next year] A dark horse will probably be the winner to take his seat, but I do think Neil Patrick Harris would be great in the role. But you know, I'm not sure Ellen should stay tho', as she often seems . . . overwhelmed on the live shows. Time will tell.

* Widely irrelevant, outside of a vague water/space connection: In retrospect, I think the Dr. Who episode "The Waters of Mars" was very derivative of the episode "42", save with water in place of sun.
Tons and Tons of Ice Found on the Moon

* Long day already. Came home from wrk last night and had to fix something in the basement: Result: 3.5 hrs of sleep. Followed by an argument w/ YaYa on the way to school, Mass, grocery store, home to cranky Ginger, now waiting on an appt. Full afternoon/evening planned, followed (~ 10) with hitting the DVR and watchi...ng AI, Lost, Dirty Jobs, 19 Kids, etc. Tuesday's. Yikes.

* I replaced the coffee pot Ginger shattered. The problem is I didn't measure it & its too tall for my coffee maker. You can fit it in, but you 1st have to remove the filter/coffee part, then lift the lid of the pot and slide both in @ the same time, giving it a little jiggle-wiggle there @ the end. You also have to keep... the lid up the whole time its brewing. In short, it's a ridiculous jerry-rigged contraption.

* Smiley just Shake 'n Bake'd the chicken I'm prepping for dinner. He was dancing around the kitchen shaking the bag like maracas. Did a pretty good job of it too.

* Not too sound all girly, but when a man makes his family a dinner and says be home at 5:30, it'll be on the table then, the clock should *not* read 5:49 w/out so much as a phone call. I [pretend to] slave all day, and for what? I feel like putting down my frilly apron and going home to Mother. ;)

* The women will *not* perform as expected today on AI, due to an unspecified illness by Crystal Bowersox. The men will sing instead. Bumping up the boys a day might just sink a few of them.

March 3rd:

Happy Birthday to my sister Katie!

* AI (men): much better than last week, & Ellen finally looked comfortable. Kara: please stop the neck motion and get out of Simon's shot. Ugh. On the hot seat: John Park, Jermaine, and Todrick, *maybe* Garcia (can't ride the 'Straight Up' train 4ever). Casey will stay, but vocals were weak. Alex was much improved.

* I finished "Shutter Island" today. I was right - I'd guessed the ending after only a few chapters. It was still a good bk, but w/ all due respect to those who rave about 'the twist', I don't think you had to be Hank Aaron to see that particular curveball coming.

* Yeah, one of the worst afternoons with the kids in months. Ginger is screaming at me and pulling at my arm right now, Smiley is banished to his room after a crybaby fit that lasted the length of a city block, LuLu is arrogant and short-tempered, YaYa is just plain lazy and jerky - and they've destroyed my house. Good times, good f*ing times.

* This is my niece and nephew 'round about 2001 or so, pre-Grace or just after. Lisa and I took them to a rec class at South Division to learn how to rollerskate. Lisa did Caitlin's hair that morning.



* Things have improved and everyone is smiling. The reason? It's pretty disgusting. YaYa ran into the house screaming "I have to poop!", then a moment later bragged about her handiwork and is *still* trying to convince people to go check it out. Hard to be angry at people when they show such pride in their work.

* The brother of an undecided House Dem has been named to the Appeals Court. Maybe it's coincidental, but it looks like biz as usual, esp. since House Dem Joe Sestak claims that he was offered a federal job (allegedly Sec. of the Navy) not to run against Arlen Specter in Penn.

* [on an alleged photo of Jon Gosselin's penis] Tsk tsk. If you have a girlfriend who nicknames you 'stubby' because of your, ahem, shortcomings, make damn sure she erases any pics of said stubbyness before you break up. I always did. :)

March 4th:

* The kids accidentally erased this weeks Lost from the DVR, and in retrospect I'm almost grateful. Now that I'vewatched it on ABC.com I thought it did little to move the plot and next to nothing to develop the characters. C-

* AI (women): an up & down night. I liked Bowersox but don't understand the mad love the judges have for her; no way she'll adapt to the weekly themes to come. Lily was good, on par or better than Bsox, but Shiobahn was spectacular. Plus she's a short -haired kooky brunette? Hell yeah. Adios to Haley, Lacey or Didi.

* The Gov.has signed a bill banning the growth & sale of Salvia, an herbal intoxicant. 1 - No one had heard of this until the media started salivating over it (pun intended). I heard a radio show where a caller THANKED anchor Brad Hicks for his report, saying it inspired her to seek some out. 2. It's none of the gov'ts d...amn business. It's a herb, and one who's first side effect is listed as "uncontrollable laughter". A waste of gov't - and now police and DA's - time.

* When you're making a cake from scratch for the first time in your life, it's probably not a good idea to do it while you're watching a 2 and a 4 year old. My kitchen looks like Lucy Ricardo just filled in at a flour factory. It's an apple cake, btw. If it tastes OK I'll post the recipie on my blog.

* [on news Supervisor Toni Clark was admitting to a felony and leaving office] No snark intended, none whatsof*ingever, but when the hell did Milwaukee start to be Little Chicago? Enough with the crooked politics.

* Extra small condoms for boys as young as 12 are going on sale in Switzerland. According to the article, a quarter of German youth (age 13 to 20) said standard condoms were too large. For the record, I am not German. Joking aside, this program is yet another example of how Europe is morally bankrupt. Those who look to it as a modern 'city on a hill' are blind.

Justified

If you're in need of a good (albeit violent) drama to fill up your TV screen, take a gander at 'Justified' on FX. I've watched the first 8 episodes via On Demand and I've enjoyed every show.

Lost - Across the Sea

It's been a long, long time since I did a weekly post about Lost. Frankly, I often have to DVR the show and watch it later, which ruins the relevancy of the writing. And now, with only 3.5 hours left in the series, what's the point of posting at all? All the mysteries will be answered, right?

Maybe. But even if the answers are around the bend, the fact is I sit here feeling very confused after watching "Across the Sea". That's unusual. After an episode what I 'know' may turn out to be wrong, but I always walk away with a grasp of the plot and a plausible theory in my head. Not this week.

I'm not going to waste time typing out a synopsis. If you saw the episode, you'll know what I'm talking about, and if you didn't, well, you should have 'x'd out this post by now.

Here are my three primary concerns about this episode:

1. Does this episode reinforce or refute or notion of Jacob as 'good' and Esau/Locke/Man In Black as 'bad'?

2. Regardless of who is good or bad, is there validity to the current status-quo of the island? If Locke leaves will disaster befall humanity? Is it necessary for someone (Jacob/candidate) to assume the role of 'protector' of the island and foe of Locke?

3. To what degree are the events of 2000 years ago (this episode) a manipulation to acheive a desired effect? Do they mirror events of 2004-2007?

POINT 1:

Well, damn, this episode screwed with the show as a whole, didn't it? Nowhere in the course of the hour was anything presented that labeled Jacob as 'bad', but it knocked away the idea that he was a benign, all-wise entity.

He is human, not a god [although many religions feature a god born of a woman]. Throughout his childhood he is clearly a follower, not quite content living in the shadow of his brother but unwilling to alter the situation. He is clearly devoted to his 'Mother', and believes her words with the conviction of a priest. Yet he is all too aware that his brother is the 'favorite', the leader, the boy who possesses both the spark of curiosity and the favor of his Mother's heart. This blossoms in violence and anger twice on screen.

On the other hand we are presented a portrait of MIB as a gifted, curious child with an adventurous heart, one who is clearly the favorite of his 'mother'. There is no clear, discernible 'evil' act to hold against him save matricide, and one could argue that the mass murder in the village momentarily pushed his sanity aside.

But . . .

If the words of warning about the Source were true, and MIB willingly and with full knowledge sought to breach that line in the sand - and remember, he somehow came to possess specific knowledge about it - then he is acting immorally. Immorally, and to such a scale he could be called 'evil'.

In the end of course, their childhood is nothing but irrelevant baggage. Who you are at 12 is not who you are guaranteed to be at 30, 40, 60 - or 2000. In his 30 years with the colony MIB had already grown bitter and distrustful of man, while Jacob seems to have picked up a fascination and affection for the same. Extrapolate that down 20 centuries, and 2004 MIB may be 100% evil, and Jacob may have evolved into the benefactor he appears to be.

POINT 2

Well shoot, how do I know? I'd say yes, and not just because it's necessary for the show to function. The show could amount to nothing more than leftovers from the imagination of a single crazy woman, but that's ignoring some facts. If she's such a complete loon, what about the source and the disappearing cave? The presence of a freakin' Smoke Monster, folks that live for millenia, and the simple fact that MIB physically can't seem to maneuver a way off into the wild blue yonder.

Something is keeping MIB in place, and whether you label MIB good or evil may be irrelevant. Perhaps, like a communicable disease, it must be contained before it spreads to the general population. It doesn't mean the infected person is any less good or moral than the next; there is not value judgment, simply a necessary precaution.

So yes, there's some point to this whole mess.


POINT 3:

We open with a mother giving birth to a child (in this case, two boys) who are taken from her by force or circumstance, ala Danielle and Claire.

Years pass. The smoke monster can take the shape of any person who is both dead AND whose body is somewhere on the island. Was it the smoke monster who appeared as MIB's true mother and introduced him to the colony? Was it his intention to set forth the chain of events we see?

Follow my train of thought. The role of Jacob/mother/candidate seems less a matter of defending the island/source than of protecting it by acting as the jailer of the smoke monster. Therefore, the smoke monster is stuck on the island 2000 years ago, presumably prisoned by the Source or the mother. Seeing an opportunity, it exploits the young MIB by posing as his birth mother, separating him from the Protector (the 'mother').

30 years pass, and the monster continues to whisper in MIB's ear, giving him information about the light and how to escape. Yet 'mother' intervenes. What's next is up for debate, but I doubt a lone woman could orchestrate the murder of a village and the destruction of a well. I suppose she could have summoned Smokey to do the deed, but I think it more likely that the monster exploited yet another opening. It wiped out the village and destroyed the well, not to hinder MIB but to push him into killing the island's protector, believing she was to blame for the village. Presumably, Smokey could then escape the island.

Farfetched? Why? It's been done before. Think about how complex Smokey's machinations were in maneuvering Locke and Ben into killing Jacob. That was a decades long process, no less or more an effort than what I've spelled out.

Except that the mother had thought ahead, and designated Jacob as her heir. When she was killed Smokey had no 'release'; it was just as much a prisoner as ever. Oopsie.

We're told Jacob can't kill MIB and vice versa. Yet MIB's physical body obviously perishes in the Source, and we see the Smoke Monster flee the cave. What happened?

Two choices. A, MIB died, period, and Smokey later took his shape. Or B, his physical form died but his soul was transformed into the Smoke Monster, which could later imitate his old form as the body was still on the island. Which doesn't explain who/what destroyed the village the day before, but there ya go.

Yes, I know neither boy was 'allowed' to kill the other. But I think that rule expires once a new protector is chosen. Only a candidate is unable to be killed by the other's hand. Once someone is chosen the other is left as 'normal' as you and me.

I think B is the more likely plot point, but I kind of lean towards A.

Jacob and MIB never refer to themselves as brothers in the future (granted, proof of nothing). Morevoer, the death of MIB not only sets up all the points I've listed it makes this truly an eternal battle between good (the protector's) and evil (the smoke monster), not just the remnants of a petty family feud.

So. One more episdode, and then the 2.5 hour finale. God I'll miss this show.

Tonight's TV

I'm like Tinkerbell Finn - I need applause to live! Tuesday's Glee was a downer, wasn't it? Quadraplegics (sp?), John Mellencamp and Kurt going all boo-hoo over a Dad who CLEARLY loves his son despite their differences. Nut up kid. Ah well. Neil Patrick Harris guest stars next week. Should be a hoot. 

 And I finally saw last night's Lost. I'll cop to being a little confused, which is unusual; sometimes what I 'know' turns out to be wrong, but I always walk away with a gist of it down and a decent theory in my head. I'll need to mull this one over.

I love my kids but the damage they can do to a house . . . not so much. - Lisa

Jury duty all day, then came home to horrible children. Seriously. Horrible. Children. I sent them all to bed just after six with no supper. If they're lucky and actually show some compassion and regret, they might qualify for meals by June. July is more likely.

Mother's Day

This morning my mother-in-law took Lisa out for breakfast. When Lisa said it wasn't right that her Mom pay for the meal, and certainly not on Mother's Day, this was her Mom's response: "Don't worry about it. In twenty years when you're changing my diapers, I'll Just take an extra dump and call it even."

The Girl Who Played with Fire

Recently I read and reviewed the first novel in the Millennium Trilogy, the hugely popular Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. My verdict was mixed; it was solid overall but slow and distracted for long stretches, with a subplot that hindered rather than complement the story.

The sequel, The Girl Who Played with Fire, is a remarkable improvement.

Lisbeth Salander, the titular character of the first book, is a stunningly intelligent but socially inept woman with a history of mental illness. She has severed ties with Mikael Blomkvist, the reporter who served as the protagonist of the first novel, but continues to monitor his life by hacking into his computer. When she discovers he has agreed to publish a book on Sweden's sex trade her complicated and dark past threatens to be exposed. Soon three people are dead, and newspapers across Sweden proclaim Salander the killer. As she goes underground it's up to Blomkvist and other unlikely allies to ferret out the truth before the law catches up to Salander.

Slow? No, not at all. Start to finish it has a tight, well-developed structure that keeps the reader turning pages. There is action - actual action, not the Miss Marple heroics of the first book - and a fight worthy of a Robert B. Parker novel. I wouldn't label the mystery itself as first rate (in that regard, Tattoo is superior) but it's certainly enough to keep you interested. And no, you don't need to read the books in order; they stand alone.

Well done. B+

Jody Gerut hits for the cycle! Congrats to Jody, the first Brewer since Chad Moeller to accomplish the feat. [btw I was at the Moeller game in 2004]

Came home from work and, wanting to get some repairs done on the porch roof, promptly sliced my thumb on a utiity knife. Don't worry, I stopped the blood flow - by accidently crushing a tube of asphalt sealant while I headed inside, thereby covering my hands, forearms, & shirt with a layer of black tar that took 20 minutes to scrub (75%) off. Ah, well. Saved me a stitch or two I suppose.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Where war and woe and wonder/Have been known frequently/And by turns bliss and despair/Have changed places suddenly

Lost

*spoilers* I finally got around to watching this weeks Lost. THREE principal characters killed off in a single episode - what other show would have the ba**s to do that? The death of the Kwon's was moving, as was Jack's last speech with Locke in the hosp.It was good to see Sayid shake off the 'fugue' - and wonderful to hear Jack named, however unofficially, as Jacob's successor. Wow.

Congrats and a book plug too!

Grim Reaper by Steve Alten will be released 10-10-10 *AND* will feature Bridgett, a friend of mine, as a character (two characters, actually) Leigh Nelson and Bridgett Deem. Her family Doug, Parker, and Autumn will be characters as well.

Congrats to the whole family!

You can pre-order copies now from Barnes and Noble!

Cinco De Mayo

Cinco De Mayo is so different in this neighborhood. Back on Mitchell Street it was parties & fireworks & guys stalling traffic by driving around w/ huge Mexican flags hanging out of their cars and leaning on their horns. Here, there's not a whisper. I much prefer it, of course, but we did do one half-a*s but well intentioned nod to the event: the family enjoyed the take home Taco buffet from Taco Bell.

You know how I know Glee is a great show? Because every Wednesday morning I wake up to take the kids to school, think of the show I watched 12 hrs before, and break into a huge grin.

Two more dreams, and a poltergeist moment

For no reason other than "Cuz", I present another dream I had.

I was in the 2nd building at Job Prior, and Simon Cowell was working with me at the desk. News came of a near drowning in the pool, only the victim wasn't in the water but laying on the tile at our feet, and I think she actually was drowning then and there.

I called for help while Simon stayed with her, but no one came. I ran south down 27th St (but in a direction that, in the real world, is north). I found myself in the home of a Hispanic family that claimed the man of the house was the Sheriff (?) but that he wasn't home. I did not believe the wife, and I began to suspect her of delaying because she wanted the woman dead.

Then, as if it was a completely different day, I was seated w/ Lisa at a table near the door of a New York restaurant. Spike Lee came in wearing a silver Yankees cap, and I remarked to her how disrespectful it was to wear a cap indoors, even though I appreciated the nod to my Yanks. Then I noticed Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who stood and waved in acknowledgement as the restaurant cheered him; and finally Carol O'Connor entered with his wife.

I remember constantly dropping my bread during dinner, and being frustrated that the waiter wouldn't bring the proper place setting.

Then it was back to Job Prior. Simon was giving a music lesson to someone. After studying a song in depth, he told the student that he'd just been taught a comprehensive guitar theory, which I thought was odd because it was a song that featured no guitar at all.

At that point I grew very depressed. I took a weeding tool that I use every day, licked the end to make it wet, and shoved it in a live electrical wire to kill myself.

At which point I woke up to the alarm, literally the first time a dream/alarm have merged in that melodramatic Hollywood fashion.

It should be noted that three hours earlier I'd had what seemed like a dream, but turned out to be 100% real. At 3:15 my girls woke me up saying one of their bedroom windows had 'fallen down'. I remember thinking "Just open the damn thing. Why are you waking me?" but I didn't even have the energy to say that. Without putting on my glasses I went to their room.

Then things got weird. Their window had indeed fallen - OFF. As in, off the track and now laying on the floor. While no light was on the room was strangely well lit, and the sky seemed a dark gray. A fierce, cold wind was pouring in the open window and paper was swirling in the air. There was a strange howl that bothered the girls more than the cold. It was a Wizard of Oz/Poltergeist moment, depending on your point of view. Without my glasses, and fighting the wind, I got the window in, shook off a "WTF?" moment, and returned to bed.

When I woke up I assumed it was a dream, but the girls remarked upon it before school. Yikes.

BTW - I had another elaborate dream last week. Most of the details are lost now, but I remember riding a bike all the way to a gas station on 76th and Coldspring, where I bought some Hostess Cupcakes. The bike was a 10 speed, but oddly resembled the old blue bike my sister Katie once owned. I think I remarked upon that in the dream, and explained (to myself?) that it had been modified to the 10 speed and I'd borrowed it for the ride.

Weeiiiiirrrd.

P--s on you AI for running over AGAIN and cutting off the end of Glee. Buy a g'damn watch already.

Please

One was funny, 7 or 8 not so much. Stop the "This is Star Wars Day. May the 4th be with you!" updates. This is your final warning - one more and I unleash a torrent of Dr. Who posts. It'll be a Dork Cage Match for the ages- and the Doctor will kick some Jedi a**. 😉

I'm done w/ the ditch for today, or more precisely the 10 ft part of it that runs in the narrow gap between my shed & the neighbors fence. Good news there - the neighbor came out and said his fence was encroaching on my lot by 14", and asked me to help him move it this weekend. So, if I don't finish by then, I'll have a lot more elbow rm to dig . .

LuLu had trouble breathing when she woke up & so they were late for school. The secretary gave them detention when I dropped them off, which set YaYa off in tears. What-the-F-ever. My kids have served more detention than all the members of the Breakfast Club put together. I consider it almost a badge of honor at that school - if you avoid it altogether you are. IMO, a meek and servile tool of the Man.

LuLu just called from school asking for her inhaler. I know people from my school days are rolling their eyes and remembering me as a hypocondriac (sic), but things change. I've missed two days of work in 12 yrs, & while I'll keep the kids home to go see a concert or a ballgame, I'll be damned if they'll stay home for any illness that isn't fatal. But her asthma/allergies are becoming an issue . .

See what I put up with? - Quote of the Day

Lisa and I enjoy watching shows on Discovery ID like Dateline, 48 Hours - basically any of the well-done network true crime shows. The cable reruns also come with the added benefit of being old enough for a nice postscript to be tacked on, letting you know where the case stands.

This weekend, Lisa missed the first ten minutes of an episode and asked me to fill her in on the details.

"Well, it's about a murder in Anytown. There's this guy, he looks like me, you'll see when it comes back on, he's leaving a gym when he's stopped and shot - "

"Wait, wait," Lisa said, interrupting me. "You said he looked like you?"

"Yeah." I said.

"Let me get this straight," she said. "He looked like you and he was coming out of a gym?"

She was grinning and I smelled trouble.

"Why was he there?" she said, "To deliver the mail?"

Some Quick Movie Reviews

I was surprised when Lisa suggested we rent Sherlock Holmes, as it didn't sound like her cup of tea at all: Victorian England, murder and mayhem, two handsome men, one of them a Doctor, running around shirtless and sweaty - wait a minute!


In the end she didn't care for it, because it turned out to be a somewhat generic action flick. A well acted movie, but an action flick all the same. I enjoyed it, but I didn't care for a Holmes that was more about blood and guts than brains. He's Sherlock Holmes. I expected a few more examples of his trademark skill before we were treated to the 'here's where I explain it all" monologue.


To me, the late Jeremy Brett remains the perfect screen Holmes.


B

* * * *




I rented this, as I said on Facebook, largely to pay homage to my late List of Five great, Brittany Murphy. It has very little in the way of plot, although I've seen far worse, and it's largely a bore. But she does look hot in her trademark crack-ish style. RIP.



C-

* * * *

The Descent was a pretty good horror flick about a group of female spelunkers who meet their doom at the hands of cannibalistic mutants inhabiting an Appalachian cave. I know - it's better than it sounds, trust me.

Part 2 is, as you can guess, all but a rerun of the first installment. Assemble diverse rescue party, put them in the identical situation, watch them die one by one. There is a decent development 3/4ths of the way through, and there are some wicked scenes, but that makes it worth a rental price and nothing more. You're much better off with the first movie. P.S. what's with the dude at the end?

C

* * * *

I may have talked about Triangle before, but if I did, so what? It was dang good.

I rented this solely based on a review on The Billiionty-oneth Geek blog. It concerns a young, single mother of an autistic child who takes an acquaintance up on his offer to go sailing one fine afternoon. Soon a strange storm swamps the boat, and the group is 'rescued' by a passing - and abandoned - cruise ship. And from there, things get crazy.

I can't think of a decent way to explain the plot without giving the crux of it away, but I found it enjoyable, and the twist at the end, while believable, came right out of left field.

Rent it and see for yourself.

A -