Bow to Him!

Arod hit his 30th homer of the year tonight - to go along with 122 RBI's! That's the 13th season in a row he's reached the 30 dinger plateau. Well done sir. You are the best of the best, and I bow to you.

Ramona & Beezuz

For family night yesterday we surprised our oldest 3 by taking them to see 'Ramona & Beezuz' @ the budget showhouse. It was a great family movie, w/ a contemporary urgency to the plot, great acting and best of all true to Bev Cleary's characters. A+

Dexter is Delicious by Jeff Lindsay

I've finished 'Dexter is Delicious', the newest of the series (#5) that inspired the hit show. Well written w/ an interesting plot, & very enjoyable.

We're OK

Hi, sorry to worry anyone. We're all healthy, if not wealthy and wise. Mid June to the present has been . . . less than the highlight of my life, and I haven't had the gumption to sit and type anything more than the 400 character cap of a Facebook post.

I'll try to post pics and an extended update here soon.

Regards and best wishes,

Dan

Johnny Appleseed in person!

 Smiley wearing the Johnny Appleseed cap he made in school

TV

We just started Season 4 of Big Love. No spoilers please, but I can't help thinking Bill is ignoring his true calling. He is destined to be the One True Prophet of Juniper Creek. 

Also - I'm a new fan of 'Big Bang Theory' (~1/2 way into season 1). I love Sheldon, but Lisa doesn't seem as adoring of the show. Mayhaps a past as a dork helps breed empathy.

I've also begun watching the original BBC series "Life on Mars." LOVE it.

 Also nearly done with Season 1 of "How I met your Mother". While I love Barney (NPH rocks!) I think the actor playing Ned dragggggggs the show down. I dig it, but overall I have to grade it a B-

The Eternal Question

I don't understand why step 2 of the job application process was to upload my f**king resume, while step 3 and 4 is to replicate it by typing in endless fill in the blanks. What was the point of asking for the resume in the first place??????

Some Great Photos of the Youngest Three

The Crew, minus YaYa (she's at Grandma's).

ooooh, I just love him! -Lisa

Lu channels Woodstock 

Taking the kids to the park in their wagon.  It is official: Smiley has outgrown his helmet. 

that's our kids, hold the helmet, not wear them, lol - Lisa 

Jeez people, bleep her shoes. She wouldn't wear 'em, and chose to walk to and from the park barefoot, and play barefoot as well.

Some TV

Wed evening we watched the premiere of "The Whole Truth". We were not impressed, finding it nothing more than a cookie cutter courtroom drama. C. OTOH, Hell's Kitchen was great fun, in large part because of the fine cast of piss poor, ghetto-riffic cooks they've cobbled together this season. B+

Also - I've finally finished watching the last of this season's Dr Who. Just this morning I voiced skepticism over the season's overall story arc (the 'cracks in time') but I'm happy to say Moffatt pulled it all together quite nicely. So, for the yr: a great new Dr, quite possibly the hottest companion ever (Amy), the first married couple/companions in the show's run, and a 1st rate writing team - I'm psyched for Season 6!

Dexter by Design

I just finished 'Dexter by Design' (bk #4), a very good addition to the series & a welcome recovery from the debacle of bk 3.

Glee

I was happy to see that Glee came back as strong as ever, & I can't wait to see the Britney epis. next wk.

Quote

Do I contradict myself? Well then, I contradict myself. I am large. I contain multitudes. - Walt Whitman

ISO

FV friends: I mistakenly deleted my newly expanded nursery in Farmville, and it cannot be restored. So kindly start barraging me with expansion materials if you can. TYIA.

Quote

Anytime you predict failure you have an excellent chance of being right.

Cue Evil Laugh

I'm sitting on my porch reading my Nook & enjoying the evening rain. Meanwhile the Evil Four are watching Honey I shrunk the Kids in our living rm and driving Lisa nuts. Shame i'm not inside to help, hee hee.

A Night of TV

We watched Bill Clinton on Letterman last night. Sure, it meant I had to put up with Dave's Lewinsky-worthy love for the guy [retch], but I was still expecting to be entertained; politics aside, Bill is good TV. Alas, he seems to have lost a few steps in the wake of his heart problems. It's sad, really. What was w/ the grade school tectonic plates lesson? Or his habit of quoting studies w/out referencing a source?

Yeah, it was kinda strange....he USED TO BE good tv, I guess. - Lisa

I worked last night and missed the premiere of NBC's "The Event". I've heard it's the Lost of this decade, which seems like a tall order. Did anyone see it? What's your verdict?

Things that make you go "hmmm"

I just returned from a dentist appt. It turned out my dentist had broken his arm "cleaning his pool" Saturday night and wanted to reschedule. 

Huh. 

Seems to me I remember seeing him wearing a Brewers road jersey and stumbling through Pick 'N Save's parking lot drunk off his ass at 2am that very night. 

My bad; must have been some other Indian dentist who drunkenly waved hello to me . . .

In Which I Defend Jimmy Carter from Spurious Accusations

IMO, the best thing you can say about the Carter Presidency is that it inspired the sitcom 'Benson'. Still, I must call foul on some local radio DJ's who labeled Carter's recent comments "sour grapes" against Ted Kennedy and a 'cheap shot when he [Ted] isn't around to defend himself'. Wrong. As early as his bio "Keeping the Faith" he accused Ted of sabotaging health care reform for his own political gain. This is nothing new.

Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay

Just finished 'Dexter in the Dark', bk #3 in the series & by far the weakest. Demonic possesion? Really? My objection isn't spiritual one. I just think it's far more fun to think of Dex as just one royally f'ed up dude. C.

Lu/Dad time!

Lu last Monday, as we spent an evening of "Dad/Lu" time.

A Rule of Life

A rule of Life, as certain as death and taxes: However much you hope otherwise, damn near everything told to a person - even in the strictest most pinkie swear confidence - will find its way into the ears of their spouse.

Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

I just finished "Dearly Devoted Dexter", the 2nd in Jeff Lindsay's series about serial killer/vigilante/crime lab worker Dexter Morgan. I have to say, it feels a little creepy to laugh out loud during dismemberment scenes; but aside from a novel premise, great characters, and a solid plot, the books are flat-out FUNNY. I tip my hat to you, Mr. Lindsay. Well done sir, well done.

Great Job LuLu!

LuLu is in the dining room reading "The Mouse who Wanted to Marry" to the little ones. Despite a bad cold, she is reading with impressive inflection and emotion; her ma's genes at work. Well done.

Our "S" Flag is up!!!

We bought this flag two or three years ago at the Fireside, but first put it up this week.

we had such a good time at the first and only visit to the fireside, glad to have something so nice to remember it by...Some day when we all have money it would be so fun to take the kids. - Lisa

Our Phones are Down

An accident near the airport has knocked down a Cricket tower, leaving most of the south side w/out mobile service. So if you're trying to call me, try FB'ing instead.

Update: The phones are still down. I have a land line, but truthfully I don't even know where we keep the phone; it's certainly not plugged in. Anyhow, I called the service dept to find out when the tower was going back online. A nice Indian woman who insisted on calling me "Mr. Daniel" said she would be happy to assist me but alas, failed to back up her claim.