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Monday, December 27, 2010
FB - the end of October
Nothing happens until it happens to you.
I received notice today that I *didn't* get that job. A 90 min interview that went like buttah, passed the reasoning/honesty test, good references, the right experience & education . . . & nada. At this point I usually doubt my own worth, but in this instance, the last step (credit ck) had to be the nail in the coffin. Two yrs ago, w/ every bill pd promptly on time each month, this job would have been mine. Damn.
Oct 23rd
After work Lisa & I watched "Frozen", a movie about 3 skiers who are mistakenly stranded on a ski lift when the resort closes for the week. From the start you *know* it's going to get ugly - and it does - but it was a solid effort and enjoyable (for us, not them).
Lulu is a big fan of 'Bony Legs' by Joanna Cole
Nine years ago today, at 4:20 in the afternoon, our YaYa came into our lives. Happy Birthday kiddo!
Oct 24th
I'm not a fan of football coverage on CBS. How Phil Simms ever got a job speaking for a living boggles the mind.
We took YaYa to CC's Pizza yest. for her bday, and to preview it for her bday party there today. Great price, good salad/soup, no decor whatsoever, mediocre pizza, artificially pleasant staff. The cinnamon buns rocked, I'll give 'em that. I wouldn't choose to return on my own, but YaYa and Lisa walked away as fans.
New drinking game: take a shot whenever LuLu trips, bumps into a counter, pokes herself in the eye, or otherwise finds legitimate reason to yell "Owieee!". I guarantee even a lush would be drunk by noon. And here's the rub: she's a natural athlete and dancer. Seriously. It just . . . doesn't seem to carry over to everyday life. ;)
[note: this update spawned a witty reply from my friend Carlos. " So that's how you hide the abuse? Get all drunk and blame the kid?
"Oh officer, she fell, seriously" Sad Dan... Really really sad."]
Eat shit and die, you purple wearing hillbilly Judas. [Brett Favre]
Oct 25th (my anniversary)
Dork alert: as of this morning I've met my annual [minimum] reading goal, finishing my 52nd book of the year. My bucket list goal has always been to crack the century mark, but as an adult I've never read more than 84 in a year.
I finished the horror novel "Let the Right One In" by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist. It's the 2nd bk of his I've read, & looking over my list for the yr I think this might very well be THE best bk I've read in '10. He is a writer that can terrify you while never losing a deeply emotional connection to the characters & their world. I am in awe of his talent.
Obviously I dislike Favre. But independent of that, I've noticed for years that the minute he screws up - aka his classic INT's - he begins to limp, hold his elbow, grab his lower back, etc. Sure, he's banged up, but??? I'm not the only one to notice. Quote the article: "Of course, when he briefly believed he had hit . . . a game-winning touchdown . . . Favre was running around like he could do a 4.4-second 40-yard dash."
[from Lisa]: Happy 14th Anniversary!
Milwaukee is facing the worst windstorm since 1998 (a storm that killed four here).
Oct 26th
[a Muslim truck driver is suing his employer after they terminated him for not delivering Miller Lite ]He failed to do his job, wrongly using Islam as an 'out', & now threatens to use it as a club over the head of his former employers. By all rights he should be LOL'd out of town - it is his JOB after all, one he sought out, and one that by definition requires him to also deliver swimsuit magazines, pork products & many other "objectionable" items. Did he refuse those too, and if didn't - why not? Does he pick & choose when to obey his God?
The 30ft tree in front of my house is swaying w/ the wind. Not just the branches, *the whole* tree. Gulp.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel endorses Scott Walker for Governor.
Taylor Swift's album "Speak Now" got a B+ from CNN.com
Watching He-Man on Qubo.
Oct 27th
I stayed up late last night to finish 'The Twelfth Imam' by Joel C Rosenburg, only to have it conclude w/ a cliffhanger. Apparently it's the start of a series. Phooey. I doubt I'll pick up the 2nd bk. The story was good, even if the characters were shallow, but it wandered off into End Times schtuff near the end. C'mon now, this is a CIA thriller, not 'Left Behind'. C.
Oct 28th
Book 'em Danno. Hawail Five-O's James MacArthur passes away. RIP.
YaYa with some of her Taylor Swift posters:
Oct 29th
"Get Him to the Greek" was a fun movie, but awfully repetitive. Cut out 2 or 3 scenes - any scenes - and it would be a much better flick.
Oct 30th
Last night we watched the film version of "Let the Right One in", a Swedish film w/ English dubbing. Everyone in the room enjoyed it but I don't think it measured up to the book. Of course, that might just me being a book snob. Of note: the climactic scene was WICKED, and brought a 'Holy Bleep!" from everyone in the room. One of the best 30 seconds of horror *ever*.
[6:20 PM] I'm on the front porch w/ the kids, passing out Halloween candy.
[9:19 PM] Just left a Halloween party @ the invite of our friend Darlene. It featured a haunted house for the kids.
Oct 31st
We just finished watching season one of Hell's Kitchen. Great show. We used to watch the F Word and Kitchen Nightmares on BBC America, so we came into it w/ respect for Gordon, but of the three I think this one is our fave. Time to put season 2 on our Netflix queue.
I've finished "Layover in Dubai", a non-political thriller set in the Middle East. The plot was . . . well, there wasn't much of one, but the setting was rich and detailed and the two main characters were well developed. It held my interest. B.
RIP Theodore Sorensen, one of JFK's aides and speech writer.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
A Peaceful Christmas
Quote from Christmas
Fantasy football, some more RIP's, books, and Indian food
RIP Mrs. Cleaver (Barbara Billingsley)
Oct 17th
The Badgers knocked off #1 Ohio State! Whoo-hoo! On Wisconsin baby!
German Chancellor Angela Merkel states that German multiculturalism has "absolutely failed." Huh. Between France and Germany, it looks like Europe is finally wising up. Wonder when it'll be our turn?
Neck to neck in my fantasy matchup this week. My gut says it'll come down to the numbers Peyton puts up tonight.
Despite a 3 digit score my fantasy team lost by under 5 pts. Take away Manning's fumble & Cooley's exit, and the game was mine. That makes *3* losses decided by 10 pts or less. An optimist would say that means I've done my homework & just had some bad luck. A pessimist would say that the scores mean I could've won, if only I'd put forth one extra bit of effort. A Dan would say, who cares? I'm 1-5 & dead in the water.
Oct 18th
I just returned from a 90 minute interview with two regional managers who came in from Chicago for the Q&A. Wish me luck - if I don't get it, it certainly isn't for lack of effort.
Oct 19th
Lisa's van had a flat tire this morning, a gash in the sidewall that meant a good chunk of change was spent before 9 a.m. OTOH, our local Pick 'n Save now carries sushi! About time. Whoo-hoo!
RIP Mr. Cunningham (Tom Bosley)
Howsabout that? My fantasy commish intervened in the outcome of last weekend's game, noting that Yahoo failed to properly post a lineup change that should have *cost* my opponent four points. The other owner concurred. The result? I won, changing my W/L to 2-4, which sounds a heck of a lot nicer than 1-5.
I finished Carter's "White House Diary" & will prob do a write-up on my blog. Meanwhile, I polished off Robert B Parker's "Painted Ladies" on the Nook today. It's (presumably) the late author's last Spenser novel, & while it was enjoyable I thought I caught a few instances were characters spoke or acted 'off' - perhaps the hand of a 2nd author polishing the text? Either way, RIP RBP, RIP.
I've been listening to Yankee radio out of an Albany station. So far Texeria pulled a hammy, the Yanks can't bring a run to the plate if you gave them an armed escort, and Josh Hamilton has homered twice tonight (4 for the series). We're going to lose this game, but hopefully we'll regroup and come back to win 3 in a row.
Oct 20th (Lisa's Bday!)
We received our first Christmas card of the year (!), from a blog reader in Great Britain. She wrote that she was sending it on what her post office claimed was the "last possible" date for overseas mail to arrive by Christmas, but acknowledged they were probably full of it. I guess mail service employees are the same the world over, eh?
Whatever your political leanings, the JSOnline "Choose your Candidate in the 2010 Governor's Race" quiz is woefully biased. Every ? is phrased to make one side the devil and the other sound like Christ himself. I would have been turned off by something that blatant on a partisan site, much less in an 'objective' major newspaper.
'finished "Write it When I'm Gone" by Thomas DeFrank. It's a collection of Gerald Ford interviews done over a 30yr period, all w/ the understanding they were off the record until his death. No surprises, other than that he was quite an astute predictor of future political events. The text is often circuitous & repeats the same anecdotes chapters apart, but it's an interesting read. B-
Oct 21st
We watched LESLIE, MY NAME IS EVIL (alt title Manson, My Name is Evil). It's either a poorly written attempt to rationalize the Manson murders as a by product of Vietnam, -or- a platonic love story btwn a fictional juror and Leslie Van Houton. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't good either. Ample sex scenes with beautiful women; unfortunately they were covered in blood much of the time. Yuck. C.
A taxpayer funded entity [NPR] fires a man [Juan Williams] for expressing the right to free speech. If his comments were about Christianity and not Islam, NPR would no doubt give him a raise.
The paper today has an article on 'dirt rain' that blanketed Milwaukee recently. As a victim of it myself, it was quite a pain to wash off the car.
Most people are mostly good, most of the time - Gerald Ford
We had white chili and cheese quesadillas for dinner, & the kids gobbled it up without complaint. As a matter of fact there were no leftovers. Bully for them - when I was a kid I wouldn't have tried so much as a bite of it. We've more or less agreed that since the kids are so willing to try new food, we'll cook up Indian soon. Quote Lu: "Indian? Like, Indian corn and stuff?"
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas!
"Every mother, when she picks up the young life that has been born to her, looks up to the heavens to thank God for the gift which made the world young again. But here was a mother, a madonna, who did not look up. She looked down to Heaven, for this was Heaven in her arms." Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Friday, December 24, 2010
The Weight by Andrew Vachh
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Quote
The Loss of Franklin the Turtle and other news
Not the greatest day in the world. A headache, a dinner out w/ grouchy kids, and some other schtuff that wasn't the greatest. But I did get a a call back from Chicago re: a potential job, thank God. In other news, I've decided to ditch the TV version of 'Dexter'. It is a good show, well acted/written, but I prefer the books. So why waste X amount of hours watching it when I could watch something I'll love?
Oct 10th
Tonight, near midnight, I pocket texted my supervisor endlessly for nearly 15 minutes, prompting her to write me a pleading yet snarking message to stop. Bet that'll go over well on my next review.
Congrats to my Yankees for advancing to the ALCS!!!! WOO HOO!!!! Only 8 more wins 'til #28! (they lost the ALCS)
I came home from work to find that the kids had taken Franklin, our pet turtle, out in the yard to play. They *also* went to bed w/out taking him back inside. With the possum prowling around, I'm not sure he was even around to be found by the time I was done w/ work, but I scoured the yard w/ a work light and an extension cord. No luck. He's still MIA. He's been part of the family since Feb '05, predating Smiley. Damn.
It is wise to remember that you are one of those who can be fooled some of the time - Lawrence Peter
Good - the Vatican aims to strengthen Christian communities in the Middle East
Oct 11th
I cleaned the toys off the lawn & raked it all. I moved their playhouse & everything in it. I went through the compost pile. I trimmed the weeds by the trampoline. i moved the trampoline itself and searched underneath. No Franklin. Maybe he skedaddled 'neath the shed, but if he did he's SOL. Lisa wants to think he's quote "truckin'" endquote on down to the pond at the park, & I guess we'll let that myth stand.
In other, happier news: Saturday Lis & watched "Kinky Boots", a Brit film about a man who inherits his father's failing shoe factory & tries to save it by making custom made boots for drag queens. Surprisingly non-camp, the film is predictable but sweet and entertaining. We also picked up LaRoux's album; other than the techno 'Bulletproof', the CD is very mellow, not at all what we expected.
"If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe." - Carl Sagan
Oct 12th
We just cleaned Gingers's room. She really is 1/2 of the 'bookends' - like YaYa, she's a hoarder. Unlike YaYa, however, she also destroys. One drawer had 1/4" of rice crispies; another was coated with orange kool-aid powder she rubbed into the wood. Spilled nail polish & paint. Broken toys. Rotten apples. Broken CHINA. It took two 13 gal. garbage bags + 2 laundry baskets and 2 LAWN & GARDEN bags to clean up the mess. Ok, to be fair 1/2 of the garden bags were devoted to toys I jettisoned, so I guess *that* doesn't count.
For Family Night this week I rented the live action "Marmaduke" and made cajun style salmon cakes with rice and broccoli. Cue the standard kid reactions to unknown food, but they all tried it. Heck, LuLu even liked it. But the best, most honest reaction to my meal? Smiley took a big bite, swallowed, and said "It taste yuck. Me feel like I 'ave to 'uke"
The first of the 33 men trapped in a Chilean mine since August 5 has arrived at the surface in a rescue capsule, greeted by hugs and cheers. - CNN
Oct 13th
I caught Ginger having a tea party in her room. Her drink of choice (which she was chugging liberally)? The pail of water we'd used to mop her floor.
The last of the Chilean miners has reached the surface, and I'm so genuinely happy for all of them it's nuts. What a great, honest, moving story of heroism and determination. Kudos to the government of Chile for fixing the problem, not the blame, and doing everything they could to rescue their people. I wish nothing but the best for the miners and their families. God Bless them all!
Oct 14th
A few days ago I finished "Star Island" by Carl Hiassen, an entertaining but forgettable novel about a spoiled pop star. I'm now ~ 150 pg's into Jimmy Carter's "White House Diary", which would mark the 4th bk on his Presidency I've read in the last 12 months. It's fascinating stuff, and at some point I'll devote a blog post or FB 'note' to some talking points about the text.
Took Smiley to visit his old school & sign him up for speech. The outporing of love for him there was great - everyone from office staff to teachers came to hug him, comment on his growth spurt, & tell him they miss him. His old teach even let him spend 1/2 hr in her class w/ his old friends. Best line? She sd his summer school teach emailed her to say Park liked being Heidi's student 'cuz she "blond and pretty" :)
Ironic license plate of the day: SUBTL T
Oct 15th
I've finished "Bad Blood", a Virgil Flowers mystery by John Sandford I read entirely on a Nook. It was great start to finish, and those last fifty pages - whoa.
"30 Days of Night: Dark Days"? I didn't even pay for the rental, and I *still* want a refund.
Bear
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
The 15 Directors Quiz
15 Directors in 15 Minutes
The Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen Directors who've influenced you and that will ALWAYS STICK WITH YOU. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes..
Steven Spielberg
Francis Ford Coppola
James Cameron
Roman Polanski
Alfred Hitchcock
John Ford
Victor Fleming
Ashley Altodonna
Kurasawa
Oliver Stone
Frank Capra
Clint Eastwood
Billy Wilder
John Landis
Martin Scorsese
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Dance Class 2010-11
Actually, this is the first year *all* of the kids are dancing, which is a heck of a blow to our schedule. Monday's YaYa, Smiley and Ginger dance, which means we have to keep the two little one's busy for nearly two hours while YaYa dances. (it's too far to drive home and back). Saturday morning's are devoted to Lu's class.
These are some camera phone pics Lisa took on the sly, as parents aren't even supposed to be in the studio during a class.
Movies, Farmville, and Baseball - FB the 1st week of October
Watched the first two episodes of Carnivale; I liked it, & will add the rest to my Netflix list. Still loving the hell out of the BBC "Life on Mars". The kids liked "The Last Song" but I didn't see more than 5 minutes of it. Wish i could say the same for "MacGruber", which was piss-fing-poor even by SNL movie standards. We could only stomach 15 minutes before throwing the DVD out the window.
Oct 4th
4X this school year my oldest three have been late for school because Lauren's bus can't make up its mind if it wants to be 10 min early or 20 min late for the scheduled pickup. %$%#
After work, w/ the other kids off at dance or Girl Scouts, I took LuL to Tenuta's for a kiddie cocktail and an order of garlic bread (1/2 price before six folks). As usual she was a chatterbox as we sat at the bar, and it was a good time. She's a good kid, she really is. Short, but good ;)
Oct 5th
Last night a nightmare woke me up at 3 in the morning. I was absolutely convinced that Whoopi Goldberg had died, and woke Lisa up to tell her. Why my subconscious would give a sh** about her passing is still under investigation.
Oct 6th
Every problem has a solution, except for those that do not.
Rule #1 for the thriller/action/horror filmmaker: in the first act you must either explain why the protagonist's cell phone isn't working, or conspire to destroy/lose it before the action starts. If you don't, four minutes into the flick the audience is wondering why the dummy doesn't just call 911.
Oct 7th
Today is the 25th anniversary of the cartoon She-Ra.
Financially troubled Grand Avenue Mall is up for sale.
Yesterday the Phillies' Halladay pitched a no-hitter in the NLDS. Wow. Great job.
I've finished "Handling the Undead" by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindvist. Yes, superficially it's a zombie novel, as the dead do rise, but that label does it a disservice. The dead are not violent, active, or even aware; the story is not about them, but about how their appearance affects the relationships and emotions of their loved ones. It's a damn good novel, and well written.
We watched "The Time Traveler's Wife" tonight. I don't regret the 90 minutes we spent watching it, but I'd rate it slightly less than average. Still, an OK 'pass the time' - no pun intended - flick.
Monday, December 20, 2010
A Sweet Gesture
Cirque de Freak: The Vampires Assistant and The Other Guys
A whole heapin' helping of quick TV reviews
I've 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-
Sunday, December 19, 2010
On to the end of September . . .
He shook his head. "Naw, not 'et".
"Huh," I said. "Well, if he does, beat his ass. Then tell your teacher."
I should have won last week too, when I posted a score well above the century mark, but of course I was playing the lucky yahoo who got 20 pts from everyone from the kicker to the waterboy.
Quote
Friday, December 17, 2010
Enuf
Thursday, December 16, 2010
15 Authors in 15 minutes
1. Beverly Cleary
2. Louis L'Amour
3.Robert B Parker
4.Stephen King
5. Peter Straub
6.Joseph Heller
7. Rudyard Kipling
8. Mario Puzo
9. Herman Wouk
10.Robert Jordan
11. Bernard Cornwell
12. Lawrence Block
13. Bruce Catton
14. Neil Gaiman
15. Walter Lord
Honorable Mention: John Sandford, Ed McBain, Robert Crais, Steinbeck, Agatha Christie, Dick Francis, Hemingway, Heinlein (minus his piss poor characterizations of women), the author(s) behind the Three Investigator's series and Landmark's history books, along with the staff of the Britannica Young Person's Encyclopedia, Lawrence Sanders, Michael Connelly and, naturally, myself :)
Note: Other than Cleary (and my last second edit of Agatha Christie) there are no female authors on the list. That isn't intentional, but I've noted the fact on prior lists and it continues to bother me.