Happy Birthday Mr. President!

Happy 88th Birthday George Herbert Walker Bush!

Joan Rivers and Shiloh

Shiloh 1862 by Winston Goom (yes, the same guy who wrote Forrest Gump) is a work of popular history about the epic Civil War battle that nearly ended the Union's thrust into the west (and with it U.S. Grant's career). Groom has become a prolific author of military history in recent years but this was the first time I've read his non-fiction. The verdict? 

Good? 

Yes.

 Shelby Foote good, as the blurb on the cover indicates?

No. 

This is a work of history meant for the masses, more of a detailed introduction to the battle than an in-depth historical work. You'll learn a lot about the battle if this is your first exposure to it, but I can't say I walked away with any more information than I knew going in, aside from some accounts taken from civilian diaries that help make the narrative more accessible.

Groom writes smoothly, and you'll find he delivers the information with ease, so no problems on that score. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I thought I detected a hint of southern bias at some points in the book, especially in the  'wrap-up' sections after the battle concludes on the field. And, as usual, too little emphasis is given to the monumental second day, when the Union not only rallied but mauled the Confederate Army to retake the field. 

Grade: B/B+

Book #42 of the year

And now for something completely different . . . 

Joan Rivers' new book, I Hate Everyone . . . Starting with Me is vulgar, occasionally repetitive, and laugh out loud funny. It's not for the faint of heart, but those with heart problems  probably won't survive the $26 price tag anyway. 

My only complaint is that it's obvious Rivers hasn't been slumming in awhile. If you're going to joke about McDonald's or other fast food places, it might be a good idea to check out a recent (post-1985 menu);. McDonald's does offer healthy options, and it doesn't serve onion rings (at least not in any of the franchises  where I've eaten. 

Anywho, damn funny. 

Grade: A 

Book #43 of the year

Lost trivia

Trivia of the day: Matthew Fox, star of "Party of Five" and "Lost" is the great-great-great grandson of General George Gordon Meade, commander of the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg and the Overland campaign of '64-'65. Howabout that?

Happy Anniversary

Congrats to Jeanne and Jaspare on their wedding anniversary (26 by my count)! Also, a big shout out to Faith, who graduated from 8th grade today. Congrats kid!

A Ugh Day

It's been a long, sluggish, waste of a day. My sleep last night was interrupted every few hours by a nightmare, and so I've been walking around in a daze all day. Usually I like to do *something* productive on my day off, and I had thought of taking the kids to see the Cave of the Mounds today, but instead I settled for a bbq in the backyard and two naps. The most productive thing I've done was take out the trash and recycle another box worth of books from my office/"someday it'll be a" bedroom.

The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe

Just finished watching the 2011 Doctor Who Christmas special " The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe". Delightful, touching, funny and packed with memorable lines, this one is grand. Kudos again to head writer Steven Moffatt and lead Matt Smith who continues to inch his way up the list of all-time great Doctor's. The last scene, where the Doctor sheds a tear of joy? I was misting up myself. Grade: A++

Primeval

I've finally finished watching the complete (to date) BBC series Primeval.

For those unfamiliar with the show, rips in time ( an "anomaly", yet another word I can never pronounce correctly) have started popping up throughout the UK. Their existence is a state secret, which is rather difficult to accept since they routinely spit pre-historic creatures out into shopping centers and highways.

A less than crack team of experts is assembled to contain these incidents. There's the evolutionary scientist and his protege, a young female zoologist, and a nerdy computer geek. Somehow, the British government deems this group up to the task; forget the dinosaur on the motorway, that's suspension of disbelief on an epic scale.

Is it high literature of the airwaves? No of course not. It's about dinosaurs romping through your kiddie pool. But it is good fun, and over time the show evolves (no pun intended). The military is brought in to back up the group and by season 4, when the new lead assumes control of the team, it has morphed into a well-funded and professional operation.

As time goes on the characters grow and change too, and what starts out as a harmless creature feature of the week becomes a show with a moderately complex conspiracy running beneath the surface.

Connor, the before mentioned computer geek, steals the show, becoming a confident and able part of the team over the years, but I have a soft spot for James Lester (played by Ben Miller), the droll and nattily dressed bureaucrat overseeing the operation. Oh, and Lucy Brown  is hot. Majorly hot.

It's a very good show. Go stream it on Netflix.

Well well

Tsk tsk. A state worker sent me an email blasting my column 

*from her state email address *, presumably on work time. I then received two automated email notices from a state address indicating her attempts to abort the message, apparently ixnayed either by her side or by gmail. Thanks for spending tax payer $ to write a personal response to a community columnist in Milwaukee. Great way to back up your email claiming the reforms weren't needed.

Goodbye Netflix

It is with a heavy heart that I just cancelled my Netflix subscription, following a ridiculous argument on the phone with their customer service dept. The episode featured a operator who said "let me get my supe" a zillion times before I said "It's your *supervisor* not your g-damn lunch" which probably explains why said "supe" and I didn't get along either. I am now forced to cxl it because I lack the moral courage to say "I enjoy the service too much to let this ruin it." Alas, I have testicles, and so Netflix may rot in the deepest pits of hell before they get another dime of mine.

Smiley's 7th Birthday - March, 2012

In retrospect it's kind of rude I posted LuLu's birthday pics before Smiley's, given that his was in MARCH, but to be fair that was during me self-imposed exile from Slapinons. Let me make up for that wrong now.

Sometime in February I drove past what was once Allied Pools on 27th and noticed that it had been converted to a Lazer Tag/Go-Kart arena. A few days later Lisa took Smiley to check it out. The place wasn't even open for business until March 1st, but they let him tour and he loved it. Lisa booked the party on the spot.



Now Smiley was/is very into Pokemon, so Lisa went out of her way to may him cupcakes that looked just like Pokemon balls.





Since the place had just opened up they hadn't had time to finish constructing the party room, which sucked. It had a bare concrete floor and smelled mildly like the exhaust from the go-karts. We made do and in the end it was fine; besides, it was the only down point of the whole gig.





 It was a small party by design, and Smiley only invited 'close' friends - including two girls.







Soon it was off to play Lazer Tag.













The kids had a blast, and Lisa and YaYa emerged on the winning team, bragging about their prowess. Huh. Big wup. On the next round I joined in as more than a spectator. I grouped my team together before the round, doling out instructions and ending with a team cheer. As soon as the bell rang my platoon followed my orders to a T, taking the high ground (balcony), establishing sniper posts to keep the enemy away from he ramps leading up to us, and attacking en masse anyone persistent enough to make it to our lair.

It was a bloodbath. We destroyed them, leaving some of the kids in tears. I myself, serving under the nickname "Jinx" scored the highest point total, while two of my team rounded off the top three. Booyah!



Then it was time for lunch (subs) and cupcakes





Next were the presents!









We bought him a bank that counted the change as he put it in; the kid had been asking for one forever. We bought one for him for Christmas but lost it before the big day!





He got the obligatory Pokemon stuff



including a homemade beaded Pikachu keychain we bought at a Chinese take out stand :)





Even Ginger made him a present:



As party favors Lisa again looked to Pokemon, using plastic, er, globes with a red base and filling them with trinkets.



After the party ended we took Smiley over to the Go-Kart track in the building and paid for a round. I was a little worried it would all be for naught - he is, shall we say, *not* a daredevil, and cautious to a fault sometimes - but he loved it.





He turned out to be an excellent, if predictably careful, driver. 





It was a great party, and a lot of fun. :)