In lieu of another season of HK on DVD, we started Season 5 of Top Chef. It's not as fun as HK & the endless product placement is repulsive, but it'll do. Now starting Survivor Vanatu.

The Karate Kid

'Karate Kid' is the rare remake that improves upon a classic. Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan were wonderful (esp Chan - it's hard to top Miyagi. Kudos) and both the story and the visuals benefited from the shifting the setting to China. I was *very* impressed, so much so that Mr. Cheap here actually allowed the rental to stay out another night. Gasp - I know! It was that good!

St Nick's

 St Nicks is over....wow...means Christmas is next....times a flyin'.....are you ready yet? - Lisa

St Adalbert's Alumni - I ran into Ms. Hutchinson yesterday at work, and she inquired about my classmates from '88. "Hello" to you all from her.

A Nightmare

I've dealt w/ nightmares most of the year, including some doozies I recorded on my blog. Last night's takes the cake: a sex dream involving the residents of a nursing home, one of whom was my boss. Shudder.

Family Night

Today's Family Night: homemade fajitas we shared w/ friends, then Lulu off to skating w/ a buddy while the others watched 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' and I dealt w/ AT&T.

Irwin Kershner

RIP Irvin Kershner director of "Empire Strikes Back"

Leslie Neilsen

RIP the great Leslie Nielsen, age 84. 

From Paris With Love

"From Paris With Love" is a fun but mindless action romp, & John Travolta's character single handedly steals the show. At least he did until the 3rd act, when he stopped being a delightful maniac and got all serious. Boo to that :) Travolta alone was worth the rental fee.

Eat, Pray, Love and The Expendables

We're watching "Eat, Pray, Love" and it is torture. How can someone make a movie this rambling and dull and not hang their head in shame?

From one extreme to another: The Expendables was fun from start to finish. Ah, maybe w/ another cast it would have been a B movie, but w/ the Justice League of freakin' action heroes involved it was a hoot.

Robin Hood

I expected the worst from 'Robin Hood' but all in all it was impressive. Very little to do w/ the legend at all, tho they try to correct w/ a lame postscript. The streak holds; I've yet to see a bad Russell Crowe movie.

Genesis

Saw an old Genesis concert video on 4.3. Without question, the great Phil Collins is the dorkiest, least sexy frontman in history. Good for him for rocking it anyway

A Busy Thanksgiving

Went out to tgiving lunch, took some photos for our Christmas cards, returned to watch NO-DAL, now watching Taylor Swift on NBC. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving too.

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My column will appear in the Thanksgiving edition of the Journal-Sentinel. Please buy a copy or read it online.

Put a fish head up your butt

"Put a fish head up your butt" a chant the kids started while marching around the house this morning, after I told Smiley to "get your head outta your ass" and find his shoes.

My Thoughts

Just a note: school buildings were constructed a century ago, ergo if you bought a house across the street you knew what you were getting into. Don't piss & moan about traffic at 7am and 3pm; don't whine about playground noise, don't complain about kids loittering on the sidewalk. You sound like a jag-off moron, and in fact you are.

A Dentist Visit

I took the youngest three to the dentist today, a follow up to their appointment with Lisa a few weeks back. 

Crazy by William Peter Blatty

I finished Blatty's "Crazy", a novel about a boy who befriends a girl w/ a few screws loose who may/may not be from the future. It'- very sweet and nostalgic, w/ a few good laughs tossed in. As always Blatty's faith provides the philosophical backbone of the book. A nice read in the vein of Mitch Albiom {sic}

The YaYa

You Happy Mommy?

"You happy Mommy?" - Junie's favorite question, asked every morning and off and on throughout the day

The 15 Albums Game

THE RULES: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen albums you've heard that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes.

1. Ten - Pearl Jam

2. Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits

3. Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd

4. Time In/Out - Dave Brubeck

5. Jagged Little Pill - Alanis

6. Dream of the Blue Turtles - Sting

7. White Christmas - Bing Crosby

8. Singles Soundtrack

9. Double Live - Garth Brooks

10. Who's Next? - The Who

11. Live at Reading - Nirvana

12. Bleach - Nirvana

13. Songs you Know by Heart - Jimmy Buffett

14. Thriller - Michael Jackson

15. Metallica - Black Album

Laurencia Bembenek

RIP Laurencia Bembenek. I'm sorry WI denied you justice in life.

Books, a notorious, tongue-in-cheek FB rant, and a day at the ballpark

September 7th

I'm watching an old Torchwood episode. My cat is a better actor than John Barrowman, albeit not as handsome. I've also just watched my first episode of Jersey Shore. Yuck.

Anyone else remember the movie Turk 182?

September 9th

We finished the second season of Big Love - a mighty fine show. It's become a favorite around here.

RIP LFO lead singer Rich Cronin. I met this man, and in fact had a . . . business dealing with him (which my old co-workers may remember; it was one of my more infamous anecdotes from 3rd).

TIME SENSITIVE: Anyone out there have 12 old Sunday papers (or their equivalent in size) laying around? My wife needs them for a Girl Scout 'sit-upon' project. The other leader had her basement flood and the papers were ruined. The meeting is THIS AFTERNOON.

I finished "Marathon: How one battle changed west. civ" by Richard A. Billows. It was good, but of the 200+ pgs, only 30 were about the battle, w/ the rest devoted to centuries of Greek/Persian history. Some background is always nice, but you don't need to know the history of bratwurst making to understand how Rommel fought, do you? So why should I care about similar minutiae in Greek history?

The NFL season starts tonight, which means my fantasy team has yet another opportunity to match the .333 winning percentage I've notched so far this century. Yeehaw! Ah, but I shouldn't let it get me down. After all, "Nobody in the game of football should be called a genius. A genius is somebody like Norman Einstein". -Joe Theismann

According to a status update by media writer Tim Cuprisin, Donald Trump is attempting to buy the site of the proposed Ground Zero mosque. [it didn't materialize]

September 10th

When a man comes home from wrk, sometimes all he wants to do is park himself in front of the TV in his undies, air out the Lebowski's, and eat some Manwich while watching Dr Who. That's all. So when you invite your SUPER HOT friend over at midnight, thereby forcing me to clothe myself and eat only human sized portions, I get a little pissy-wissy. I apolgize for the bed-wetting, but otherwise the fit was warranted.

September 11th

Here's a shot of Smiley, YaYa, and one of YaYa's friends




Farmville friends - I'd appreciate it if you could send any of the FV.com exclusive gifts, or better still the white apple tree unique to the iphone. Thanks in advance.

I'm @ the Brewers/Cubs game @ Miller Park. Courtesy of my buddy Tre, I'm seated in the Founders Suite (#2) right behind the Brewers dugout. Pics to follow.

Best t-shirt so far: I'll root for the Cubs the day they play Al Queda

A moving rendition of God Bless America here @ the ballpark, w/ the flag @ half mast for 9/11. @ least for a moment, common ground w/ the Cubs fans here.

GREAT catch by Braun! (8:09 pm)

Note: The Brewers lost the game.

Lawrencia Bembenek - Update

WISN is reporting that Lawrencia Bembenek has been moved to a hospice & won't live to see 2011. I can remember my Grandparents looking at newspapers during her trial & saying they were sure she was framed; it'd be nice if some measure of justice took place while Bambi was around to see it. A request for a pardon is in the works, but the powers that be have kept her down for 30 yrs, so don't hold your breath.

Full Dark No Stars

Is anyone reading Stephen King's "Full Dark, No Stars"? I am, and right now it feels a lot like work. The first novella is so derivative of Poe it reads like student work from a creative writing course. The 2nd story is better, but naturally has a writer as the protagonist, just like, oh, Dark Half, The Shining, Bag of Bones, Misery, The Body, etc. Way to think outside the box Steve.