FB March 11th - 13th

March 11th:

I'm a wee bit peeved. I was called and asked to pick up a shift at work and said yeah, sure, just let me ck the wife's schedule and I'll call you back. I called and, naturally, it had been handed over to someone else - because that 15 min delay obviously meant the diff. between the comp going bankrupt or staying solvent. $%^#@

* [on the death of NFL player/actor Merlin Olsen] I was born too late to remember him from the NFL. My memories are limited to seeing him on Little House on the Prairie (wupping some punks that beat on Michael Landon in town) and the FTD commericals. RIP.

* Kansas City (MO) is planning to close 28 of its 61 public schools.

* I've finished the historical novel "The Burning Land" by Bernard Cornwell. As the 10th century ends the Saxon warrior Uhtred, oath-bound to Alfred the Great, forsakes his vows. But soon a Danish army under Haesten threatens Mercia - & Alfred's daughter, its Queen, so Uhtred's blade must sing again. It's fast moving, ...blood-drenched, (more or less) historically accurate adventure from a proven master. Well done.

* I dig the first line: "Sometimes multitasking has its limits." LOL Police: Woman Crashes Car While Shaving Bikini Area

* What a lousy night of AI. Andrew freakin' Garcia, Didi and Lacey Brown go forward while Lilly Scott is cut? F that. Good for her for not rolling over and mouthing the standard issue PC crap after she was robbed. Alex Lambert was screwed too; forget the mullet and listen to that voice. WTH was America thinking?

* I'm not a big 30 Rock fan, but "Hard Cheeses and Your Root Canal, Liz" had me LOL for so long I dang near wizzed my pants.

March 12th:

The kids are watching the ICarly special where they train for a space flight, and the exterior shot of the futuristic 'space training facility' is . . . the Milwaukee Art Museum.

* Exciting news. Viking remains have been found in England. All of the men were beheaded, presumably by the very Saxons they were trying to conquer. Not the greatest article. The concept of a "Dark Ages" has been largely discredited (and rightly so), and the term 'Viking' here is used as if it was a nationality, not (for lack of a better word) an occupation. Still, exciting.

* A beautiful, very foggy night out there. I just got back from running errands with YaYa for the last few hours, including burning the last of her Xmas GC at Barnes & Noble (where she picked up 2 Club Penguin books).

March 13th:

Paranoid is what people who are trying to take advantage call you in an effort to get you to drop your guard

* This is old news (Oct 2009) but new to me. This is the only known film image of Anne Frank, taken as she leaned out her window to watch a bride and groom next door. Here at home we continue to read 'The Diary of Anne Frank' to the girls before bed, usually only an entry or two a night.

Incredible

Yest. morning Lump's babysitter (a family member) suddenly tried pawning her off on another relative. When I heard this I called and asked about the sudden change of plans. She claimed this was what we'd agreed on [so not the case] "It's the information I was given," she said. "From who?" I said. "The President of Wakey-Wakey-Make-It-Uppy?"

I Agree Henry

Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all. - Henry David Thoreau

Not Cool GSA

Yikes! The Girl Scouts just charged my card $200 towards summer camp - that'd be $200 I can't spare - despite the fact that I took care of that bill months ago. They've reversed the charges ("for now") but I need to redo some of the paperwork (?!) for the camp. Apparently a large chunk of the application was lost, & so their computer records are incomplete & I was charged as part of a mass billing . . .

Ruby Ridge

Lisa & I watched a show on Ruby Ridge; what a needless waste. Then, we watched testimony from OR v Beagley, a case of alleged negligent homicide against parents who refused med treatment for their 16 yr old son. IMO, another case of the gov't overstepping its bounds. Gov't doesn't shrink or remain stagnant, it perpetually grows, like a cancer. I shudder to think what burdens our great-grandchildren will live under.

Babysitting the Godson

Babysitting my (soon to be) Godson TJ. Took him for a walk in the stroller with LuLu and Junie stopped at a local playground, then spent time in the backyard. He seemed the happiest outdoors, breaking into huge grins for Lisa & the girls. Now he's asleep in the bouncer, but he's been a little grumpy. From experience I'd say he's teething or constipated. Or he's po'd about the Brewers losing AGAIN; Lord knows I am.

Facebook March 7th - 11th

March 7th - my Smiley's 5th Birthday!!

* Smiley's name appeared on Sprout's Birthday Wishes at ~9:32 this morning, but (so far) not his card.

* 3 words to describe Smiley's bday party (in progress): pretty dang lousy. [only one of six invited guests from his class showed up, despite folks RSVP'ing]

* [3:18 pm] The kid party is done. 1 hr 55 minutes until the family party for Smiley starts. I think I'm going to try and nap. Or watch the Magic-Lakers game. Either/or.

March 8th:

I'll say it again: as early as the 2000 election I witnessed, first hand, voter fraud at the polls here in Milwaukee. A few hundred fraudulent ballots may not sound like a lot, but in a battleground state like we were in '00 and '04, it matters.

* I finished *One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich*. The blase acceptance of the gulag as normal and "just something to bear" is as much an indictment of the Soviets as the injustice of the camp itself.

* [from my sister K] Danny - Congrat's dear man . Your wish has come true . People .com is reporting that Betty White will be hosting Saturday night live !!!!! Your fantasy lady is fullfilling your dreams :)

* [on the death of Natalie Wood in the '80's] I was seven at the time, and I think it's the first high-profile celebrity death I remember. Ah, memories.

* [re: a serial killer who won on 'The Dating Game'] By the time of the show he'd already raped a little girl, and by the end of that year he would abduct and kill the first of his victims. Even at the time the other contestants on the game felt he was 'creepy' and despite winning, the woman refused to go out with him.

March 9th:

* On Sunday I caught YaYa using "BRB" (as in 'be right back') in actual, human to human conversation. Our culture's decline is all but complete.

* [Rep Eric Massa (D - NY) on White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel] Quote: : "I am showering, naked as a jaybird, and here comes Rahm Emanuel, not even with a towel wrapped around his tush, poking his finger in my chest, yelling at me." Icky-ick. At least it was just a finger he was poking with . . .

* Internet quote of the day, from a commenter on a Baseball Think Factory article about Obemann's over-the-top (surprise!) & rude attack on sportswriter Bill Simmons: "It may take months. It may take years. It may take decades. But as God is my witness, before I die, I will see Science get that stick out of Olbermann's ass"

* AI: A srong night for the women, and I much prefer the terse one hr format to the dragged out 2hr crap. Lacey saved herself this wk, and I think it's obvious Paige has to go. 2nd elimination is harder to pick this week - maybe Katelyn for her good vocal/no personality performance?

* Lost: After last weeks yawner, it was good to see Lost back on track. I'm happy Ben is a good man in the flash-sideways. Note also that on-island he rejected neoLocke/devil?'s offer & been accepted into the (good) group simply by confessing his sins. Jack's transformation has begun as well; on the Black Rock it became ...clear he is now a man of faith, and a believer in destiny. The lines have been drawn. It's showtime.

March 10th:

* Actor Corey Haim dies (RIP) and Einstein's theory of relativity is allegedly proven

* Happy birthday Chuck Norris!. One of my favorite Norris facts: He destroyed the Periodic Table of Elements because he only recognizes the element of surprise.

* [on the retirement of the great but oft-injured Nomar Garciaparra] There's no sport that likes to dwell more on 'what coulda been', but baseball mythology aside, injuries rarely derail what was sure to be a Hall of Fame, history making career. Not so with Nomar. He could be the poster boy for great talent rendered useless. I tip my cap to you sir. Enjoy your retirement.

March 11th:

I think the men did quite well tonight on AI. Michael Lynche won the night, although not my vote, but I was also quite impressed with Alex Lambert's voice. My picks to go home: the one-note Andrew Garcia and Todrick Hall.

* Just finished watching the Spanish language film "Before the Fall" (Tres Dias). The world has 3 days before a meterorite destroys the earth. So its a disaster movie right? Nope. Prison riots break out, & a serial killer escapes to kill the family of the man who caught him. Only the man's loser brother is left to defen...d the children. Think High Noon meets Armageddon meets Party of Five. Very good flick.

Any dog'll turn

RIP my front lawn

Last fall the city used stimilus $ to tear up my lawn. They replaced a functioning, intact gas pipe w/ more of the same, wiped out the small hill in front of my porch & destroyed my grass. I was set to cut the new lawn today for the 1st x - so naturally the city returned & dug it up AGAIN. They left a note on my door saying it was just to ck & see if they'd done the work right. America, your gov't at work.

Quote of the Day

"Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil." - Jerry Garcia