Smiley's new Smile!

Christopher Hitchens is dead. Enjoy the heat.

A Sh**ty Day Off

Sh**ty day off. I don't mind the rain and the gloomy skies - Iz down with dat - but I've had a headache, a nosebleed and an argument with Lisa that led to four and a half hours of wasted air in the middle of the day. Lu has a friend coming over and I reckon we should clean the house, but bleep that. I have four destructive, messy kids. No use pretending otherwise. 

Oh, I also have two columns to write and X-Factor voting to attend to. *melodramatic sigh* on the upside, I'm making bbq ribs for dinner.

Chris Rene sucks. Why he's still on X-Factor is beyond me.

I wish to formally wipe the last 23 hours and 58 minutes off the Tivo of my life. What a shit, shit day.

Kudos to Smiley for pronouncing his "Sh" sound worksheet correctly!

Fright Night

Redboxed the remake of "Fright Night" and wonder of wonders it's better than the original. The writing is sharp, blending horror and laughs in all the right proportions, and the acting is terrific (special nod to Anton Yelchin). Plus - drum roll please - DAVID TENANT, aka the Doctor, stars as vampire hunter Peter Vincent. Hell, even the *bloopers* on the DVD were worth the rental fee. A+

Try It

What I Learned Today: The english bits of 'Feliz Navidad' lends itself perfectly to a Dracula/Transylvanian accent.

I Hope it Was Enough

on the porch reading and watching Smiley play when a homeless man walked by w/ a shopping cart (1st x ever). I stopped and asked him if he was hungry and had Park bring him an apple and a pack of cookies we had just bought. I thought about giving him my untouched sub sandwich too, but in the end my belly won that fight.

Unkwown

Tonight, after the "30 Minutes . ." dud, we put in Liam Neeson's "Unknown". I liked it. A little long, a little improbable, but entertaining and with an imaginative little premise. B+

A Nightmare

Went to bed 'round midnight, woke up at 4:04 from a nightmare bad enough that I promptly went downstairs and hurled. Great night.

Atlas Shrugged Pt 1

i watched "Atlas Shrugged Pt 1" yest. Objectively, it was an ok film that struggled at times to find enough action to warrant its length. Subjectively, it was great to see a film that correctly warns of a near future where the governments whims trump private property, free markets, and worst of all initiative. Lisa stated a few times that "that could never happen". Wait and see. Wait and see.

30 Minutes or Less

We rented the DVD for '30 Minutes or Less' from Netfix. Aptly named film. We made it all of ten minutes before giving up on this mindless turd.

A Celebrity Sighting

Saw Chester Marcol today (Packers kicker from '72-80)

Adele

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British singer Adele made Billboard history on Friday when she became the first female singer to be named top artist, have the top album, "21," and score the top single, "Rolling in the Deep," all in one year.

Jerry Robinson

Jerry Robinson, the creator of The Joker, Robin, Two-Face, Alfred, and other staples of Batman lore is dead. He was 89. RIP.

When Tribal Sovereignty Challenges Democracy: American Indian Education and the Democratic Ideal

@ my Dad's request I read and offered my opinion on "When Tribal Sovereignty Challenges Democracy: American Indian Education and the Democratic Ideal" by K Tsianina Lomawaima & Teresa L McCarty [Amer. Educational Research Journal Summer 2002 V30 #2). I agree with the authors that tribal education is far below par and needs to change, but found much of the paper a simple recitation of ills. More time on proposed solutions might have been nice. In short, no different than most papers I read in Education.

The Rocker

BTW, our movie last night was "The Rocker" with Rainn Wilson as a guy who spends 20 years in a funk after being dumped by a band on the brink of superstardom, only to get a second chance behind the kit for his nephew's band. I expected the movie to be awful and was pleasantly surprised. It isn't going to resonate in my heart forever or anything, but it was a moderately funny, mildly sweet feel good story.

Feast of the Immaculate Conceptio

Just back from Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It felt good - I needed that. Now a quick breakfast and off to work . .

Quote

William Temple replied to his critics who regarded answered prayer as no more than coincidence, “When I pray, coincidences happen; when I don’t, they don’t.”

 - David Watson, Called & Committed, (Harold Shaw Publishers, Wheaton, IL; 1982), p. 83

Harry Morgan

Harry Morgan (aka Col. Potter on MASH) has died at age 96. RIP sir, I enjoyed your work.

The Journal-Sentinel just asked me to do an extended column for publication on Christmas Day. Quoting the email from the editor: "You seem to have a knack for writing holiday columns with just the right feel." Flattered and all, blah blah, but mighty sick of being good enough to be sought out for publication and yet never considered for regular work.

My Thoughts

Former IL Gov Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison today on corruption charges. Blech. I'm all for punishing the guilty, but to my mind imprisoning someone for a non-violent crime seems like a waste of resources. Stab someone, rape, murder, even risk someone's death (by drunk driving or by carrying a weapon during a crime) and by all means lock 'em up, but short of that there have to be more cost-effective & intelligent solutions.

We Remember

70 years ago today my maternal grandparent's were on a date at the Riverside Theater. The movie was stopped, the lights came on, and an announcement was made that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. They both knew my Great Uncle Leo (grandma's brother) was stationed there that morning. He was part of the crew of the USS Vestal, moored alongside the Arizona. Luckily, he survived, but of course 2000 Americans did not. To all the men at Pearl that day, thank you for your service. We'll always remember.

St Nick's

St Nick's morn went well, with everyone in a good mood and loving their stockings. Booklights, winter caps (featured), dry erase boards, an outfit, a book (doll for Junie), candy, and odds and ends. A good haul and as I said they loved it. Lisa got makeup and a nice candle. Heck, I got a new pair of slippers myself.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

We just finished watching "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". It was much, much better than your average comedy/rom-comedy, Kudos to Segel for a funny, well-crafted script that made the characters real and complex, each with their own flaws and strengths. I was really impressed (and the great cast didn't hurt). A + (Lisa was less keen on it, but ya ain't hear to read her opinions, are ya?;)

St Nick is Coming!

The stockings are full and laid out by the fireplace. An unintentional compliment from the kids tonight: one of them asked why we bothered with the stockings since "there's always too much to fit in them anyway". For that, a big thank you to Lisa, who I swear works all year long to compile an impressive hoard of goodies for the holidays.