Japanese Tsunami

 

I took the family out for a fish fry to celebrate the 1st Friday of Lent. The kids were good - good enough to get a compliment from an elderly couple nearby. Now Lis and I are about to sit down and watch 20/20's report on the horrific earthquake in Japan . .

Jefferson Quote

 "DO NOT bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it."

--Thomas Jefferson

Kate Winslet

 Kate Winslet. #1 on my List of Five for 13 consecutive years.

On Online Ads on News Sites

I have no problem with having to watch commericals on a news site. I just think the site should be more conscious of the context in which they're placed. I'm sure Company X doesn't want their happy-happy jingle to be followed by a story of abuse and torture, as was just the case on CNN.com. It's poor taste, and the fault is CNN's, not the advertiser.

My Thoughts - Online Ads

 I have no problem with having to watch commercials on a news site. I just think the site should be more conscious of the context in which they're placed. I'm sure Company X doesn't want their happy-happy jingle to be followed by a story of abuse and torture, as was just the case on CNN.com. It's poor taste, and the fault is CNN's, not the advertiser.

 My ass is broke I think. And no, I'm not referring to my constant state of poverty for the last 2 plus years, I'm talking about my actual ASS. Thanks to my kids legos and some 120 year old stairs. Sympathize for me, as I don't get any sympathy at home - Lisa

New Years Day thru January 4th

Jan 1st 2011

May I just say - The Big Bang Theory is one heck of a funny, well done show.

In the news: The Pope rallies Christians to not despair in light of recent attacks, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson declines to posthumously pardon Billy the Kid.

We're 10 days shy of going 6 months w/out a single day w/out kids - or for that matter, so much as 4 hrs (!). Haven't seen a movie in close to a yr, haven't gone out to dinner alone (w/out a curfew) for months. Typical for some families I guess, but Lisa & I enjoy our time together more than most. I think some parents keep their kids on their t*t so they won't notice how little they like their spouse.

Jan 2nd

Hot damn, the Packers win and advance to the playoffs! Who-hoo! Two other reasons to be happy for the win: a) it came at the expense of the FIB Bears and b) it eliminated Tampa Bay, thereby making Carlos' life just a little less grand. Triple-win for Dan-Dan!

Jan 3rd

An incident at Mayfair Mall, allegedly planned via social networking sites, had the mall on lockdown. According to a witness (and who knows how reliable they are), the incident was not 'isolated' as claimed, and involved as many as 100 youth.
They knocked over merchandise, screamed and yelled, and there were reports of shots fired in the parking lot.

Aside from complaining about the babysitter situation, it was a pretty good New Years wknd. Alcohol helped, of course, but for the most part it was a relaxing wkend full of excessive amts of TV & homemade pizza. Sunday was a little more productive. I watched 9 hrs of football, helped Lis carpet the back stairs, hung a closet rod for Smiley & tracked down a new phone on Craigslist for our friend Chris.

Zsa Zsa Gabor will have a leg amputated





Jan 4th

‎'Knight and Day' was a fun but forgettable spy flick, at least worth a rental from Redbox. What made it rise above its tired plot? A) Tom Cruise's character was genuinely LOL as he prattled on, oblivious to the situations around him and B) Cameron Diaz has gorgeous feet. That alone would sell the movie for me.

Facing multiple lawsuits over sexual abuse, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee is filing bankruptcy. This is a shame, and IMO, a victory for the devil. Literally. My own opinion aside, Archbishop Listeki's statement is very well done, admitting the wrongs of the past and laying blame on those responsible (priests). Either he's a gifted writer or his copywriter deserves a raise.

‎'Jaws', the novel by Peter Benchley, was largely a waste of my time. Speilberg was right - in the book you wind up rooting for the shark because all the humans are a*holes. There's not much to say about his style either. The film is infinitely superior, although I will say that the opening sequence of the book is both well written and suspenseful.

The son of the former Shah of Iran has committed suicide. RIP.

I have a column in tomorrow's (Wed) Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Kindly pick up a copy if you can.

The words 'injun' and 'ni---er' will be purged from a new edition of Twain's classic Huckleberry Finn. This is, w/out question, censorship and political correctness masked as an attempt to 'widen the reading audience' of the book. "Think of the children!" Yeah, think of them listing to the N word in every other rap. An acquaintance of ours nicknamed his son 'chigga' from a song that rhymes it with the n-word. And Twain is what we worry about?

My cousin Mindy stopped by w/ her son Isiah:




Obama's staff is rumoured to be due for a few roster changes. This is typical at the midpoint of a President's first term. However, when a President is *perceived* to be struggling it is often misinterpreted as a sign of panic and lack of faith - note Carter's disastrous cabinet shakeup in the wake of his 'malaise' speech.

Ouch! I just burned my stomach taking cookies out of the oven. Yeah, I shouldn't be baking sans shirt, but I can usually count on my thick manly belly hair to protect me. Oh well. At least the inevitable scar will blend in with the stretch marks.

Remember, I'm in the paper today. As of now, there are 11 comments about it on the JSOnline site, 2 of them full of angry liberal CAPS and !!!!!! marks. Which is odd, since it has nothing to do w/ politics, left or right. Thank heavens JS didn't have comment capability when they published the gay marriage/concealed carry/Catholic Church columns. I had anonymous hate mail sent to my father's house after one of those.

Morning Glory

I've got this all backasswards - the busier I am in the day, the more I post. Instead of stopping for a cigarette break, I spend a few minutes clogging up your news feed. Yay for you. Just finished Morning Glory, and was shocked it was so good. I LOL'd 11 times - I counted - and Harrison Ford was superbly funny as the crochety old anchor. Loved it.

Quote

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact - William James

Grrrrr

Now this Madison mess has interrupted The Wendy Williams Show. Have they no decency?

Walker just finished his press conference. He was well spoken, calm, reliant on acts not emotion, and I'm pretty confident he has balls the size of watermelons. A striking contrast (no pun intended) to the cliche ridden tantrums outside the Capitol.

Instant Replay by Jerry Kramer

Last night I finished "Instant Replay", Jerry Kramer's classic diary of the 1967 NFL season. It's a fun read, with a clear and intelligent voice. (not to spoil the ending, but the Packers win the SuperBowl)

 Yo, if news reports on the chaos in Madison interrupt or pre-empt American Idol, I'm gonna be pissed.

 Breaking news: from what I understand the collective bargaining measure has been removed from the budget bill and pushed forward on its own; since it ISN'T a fiscal bill the GOP can vote and pass it w/out the Senators that fled to IL. I guess it'll happen tonight.

Some short (and I mean short) reviews of TV & Movies

We recently watched the movie "Never Let Me Go", a movie based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. Although the plot is nominally sci-fi, it is so understated as to nearly escape the attention of the viewer. It is moving, beautifully acted, and heart wrenching. SPOILER: I do wonder if the Donors were indeed 'souless' in the sense it as used in the film, as the 'beautiful' art Tommy creates looks like infantile scribbles to me. Was that the intention of the scene?

After a long day at work Lis & I watched "I Knew it Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale" (aka Fredo from The Godfather). It was an entertaining tribute to him as an actor, but little else. As to Cazale as a person, we learned he was born in 1935, smoked a lot, died young . . . and that's it. The filmaker could have done a lot more with the material.

We also finished "The Ghostwriter". It would be a dang good movie if the plot made any sense. A former PM of Great Britain demonized and branded a war criminal for having 4 known terrrorists kidnapped & waterboarded? The UK allowing a PM to be brought up on charges by the (ridiculous) internation court? A consistent anti-American plot thread (literally)? Meh. Bleeding heart politics masquerading as art.

On the opposite end of the entertainment spectrum, we finished watching Survior: Pearl Islands. While we wanted Rupert to win it all, we were pleased that his pal Sandra took home the million dollar prize.

We also watched The Bachelor, Season One. Odd how the 'rose ceremony' had yet to earn its moniker (it was called 'invitation night' instead). Even more noticeable compared to this season (which we also watch): the average physical appearance of both the bachelor and the women has soared over the years. The 'winning' woman was yummy, but the majority . . . yikes.

Our love of The Amazing Race continues, although we've now run out of DVD's. To compensate we started Season One of The Mole. It's a great concept but executed a little sloppily. I hope in later seasons they've learned from their errors.

I've started watching The Streets of San Fransisco and have come away quite impressed. Ditto for the few episodes of The Phil Silvers Show (aka Sgt. Bilko) I've watched. Unlike many older sitcoms it seems well written and the humor is still fresh.

That's it for now. Tune in next time folks.

Lego Smiley

 

Quote

 Do Good And Care Not to Whom - a sign in the hallway of Junie's school, attributed to an old Italian proverb

Finishing 2010 on Facebook

Dec 29th

We watched 'Barry Munday' last night, an indie comedy about a man who loses his testicles and then learns he knocked up one of his last conquests. It's a very sweet but dry film, w/ a few scattered LOL's, and Lisa liked it a lot. I wasn't as thrilled, but it was OK. Of course, the subject matter begs the question: would they make a comedy about a woman who loses both breasts to cancer? Same diff right? Ah, the double standard at work.

Bleepin' kids are all over me while Lisa's at the mall. No, you can't go on the computer. No, you can't watch a movie down here. You have the entire 2nd floor, TV and all. Use it. And don't complain. You are a guest here. That's right, a guest. A guest for 18 long years, but a guest all the same. It's my house & my toys, so pbbbt!

Dec 30th

Two pics of YaYa's new perm:




NY Eve
Fyi Adalbert alum - I just saw Sr Kathleen. She says Sr VIrginia's lung collapsed yest. She is in St Lukes but not doing well.

Here's some photos taken during a recent Girl Scout tour of Palermo's Pizza factory.







Jan 1st

A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it - Samuel Johnson

 Tim Cuprisin is reporting that Charlie Sheen has been fired from "Two and a Half Men". What crap. If you aren't allowed to be a drug fueled sex addict, then what's the point of Hollywood success?

The Ghostwriter

 Just finished "The Ghostwriter". It would be a dang good movie if the plot made any sense. A former PM of Great Britain demonized for having 4 known terrorists kidnapped & waterboarded? The UK allowing a PM to be brought up on charges by the (ridiculous) international court? A consistent anti-American plot thread (literally)? Bullsh-t.

I just watched some new footage from 9/11, & LuLu came up & asked me if the Towers were factories (because of all the smoke rising from them). She admitted she had no idea what 9/11 was or what it meant to this country. I spent several minutes explaining what happened that day, and I think I did a good job. I'm surprised she hadn't been taught about it in school, although in fairness she is quite young.

 Happy 6th birthday Parker! We love you Smiley!

Happy 6th Birthday Smiley!

The title of the post says it all. Happy Birthday Smiley, and may God bless you with as much love and happiness as you've given this family over the last six years. I love you Little Man!

I Knew it Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale

Tonight, after a long day at work, Lis & I watched "I Knew it Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale" (aka Fredo from The Godfather). It was an entertaining tribute to him as an actor, but little else. As to Cazale as a person, we learned he was born in 1935, smoked a lot, died young . . . and that's it. The filmmaker could have done a lot more with the material.

Girl Scout Mass

 a rather blurry shot of the Girl Scout's at Mass this AM

Better than nothing! I'm so proud of those two cadettes too! Are there more cadettes? - Lisa