FB mid September - elections, books, flags and more!

Sept 12th

I finished 'Body Work' by Sara Paretsky. The writing was good, but it seems to rely on character over plot, which is a problem when much of the oomph lies in the the fact the PI is a woman.That may have been a nice gimmick in the '80's, but not today. As to that plot - conspiracy, conspiracy, blah blah. 'Cuz, you know, no one is murdered by anything less than a secret corporate plot. I grade it a C.

It is my deeply held belief that anyone who insists on backing into a parking spot @ a public venue is a pompous ahole w/ far too high an opinion of their own worth.

LuLu with a pumpkin she decorated at Grandma's:

Sept 13th

I just finished "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay, the 1st in the series that inspired the show "Dexter". It's great fun, give or take a torturous death or two. What really makes it tick is the playful voice of Dexter himself as he narrates the action. I'm going to read more in the series.

RIP 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' actor Kevin McCarthy, age 96

Ok - election day is less than 24 hrs away. My picks? Gov: SCOTT WALKER Lt. Gov: KLEEFISCH Senate: RON JOHNSON Congress (4th): DAN SEBRING. And, if I was in State Assembly District 20, MOLLY MCGARTLAND. In my own assembly district 19, I vote for KRISTA BURNS, not because of her party, but because a district that encompasses Bay View should have a rep w/ an address in, gosh, I don't know, Bay View.

Sept 14th

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.

And . . . the polls are closed. Hope y'all voted today. As usual I took YaYa with me after school, but all that meant was that I had to give her my "I Voted" sticker. Sooooo not fair.

The French senate has approved a ban on the burqa. ‎"Given the damage it produces on those rules which allow the life in community, ensure the dignity of the person and equality between sexes, this practice, even if it is voluntary, cannot be tolerated in any public place." Jeesh - whodathunk I'd grow increasingly fond of the French?

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.

We bought this flag two or three years ago at the Fireside [Theater], but first put it up this week. Sure it's cheese. But this is Wisconsin. We like cheese here ;)

A Dream

Talk about life imitating art. I dreamt I was called to a high rise office builiding, all sterile steel & glass. Try as I might, I couldn't reach the top floors - the stairs were Penrose stairs, ala 'Inception', & the whole builidng was nothing but a ruse to keep me busy. There was more (an intentional disqualification in a tournament/contest, ending w/ violence) but it's the staircase that stands out in my memory.

Keep Your Shoes On!

So glad #4 is the last...don't think I could handle the whole 'lets unbuckle and take of our socks and shoes' stage with another 3 year old again. This time I made her walk inside w/ no socks and boots...I know I'm horrible...but nothing else has worked so hopefully that will! My luck it will backfire and I'll just have a sick kid to take care of tomorrow....sigh. - Lisa

St Nick's 2010

You'll have to forgive the latest Slapinions hiatus, as my Internet service was down for a few weeks. I can update my Facebook page from my phone, but it's a wee bit harder to orchestrate a blog post via that method :)

This Sunday night/Monday morning was the celebration of St. Nick's, a warm-up to Christmas which is widespread here but which is apparently limited to the German-influenced cities of the Midwest. Let me know if the tradition extends to your neck of the woods, as it certainly is a practice that deserves a wider audience.

We slowly chipped away at the stockings over the last few weeks. Each kid got a minimum of some Silly Bandz, a holiday themed Coca-Cola bottle, a small amount of candy, and some socks. Sunday evening, with severe cold on the way for the AM, we picked up a pair of gloves for each child and added them to the mix.

Smiley and Ginger each got a character-themed bath set (Spongebob and Dora, respectively) and YaYa got a 3 DVD set of funny animal videos I bought on super clearance. We also picked up a copy of Taylor Swift's Christmas CD for her, as YaYa is a HUGE Swift fan.

LuLu got a sticker album for the movie Tangled that I found at the Dollar Tree, and a panda bear Lisa found at a rummage sale (Panda's are her favorite animal).

As she's always complaining about not having as many CD's as her sister, we picked up a copy of Selena Gomez's latest for her. She also got a great big can of black olives to enjoy!

Lisa bought me a Farmville gift card (yippee!) and I got her a copy of Ke$ha's newest CD.

All in all, a very nice, very happy, surprisingly robust looking St. Nick's 2010. Good planning Mom and Dad!

Inception

I just finished watching 'Inception', a film we tried and failed to see in the theater and so eagerly awaited on DVD. My verdict: I liked it, but I don't think it lived up to the hype. The idea sounds imaginative, but in reality (no pun intended) it all came off a little literal and rigid on screen, no? I think the visuals mask a failure in imagination that could have made a very good film into a masterpiece.

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