Published writer, compulsive reader, Old School Whovian, Match Game enthusiast, NKOTB fan, data hoarder, and - surprisingly, given that list - married with four kids. Welcome to my take on life, fatherhood, entertainment, and whatever strikes my fancy. Enjoy!
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
9 Years Ago
9 years ago today Aaron Boone provided one of the best moments in Yankees history. Man, what a game that was!
George McGovern
90 year old former Sen and Presidential Candidate George McGovern has been admitted to a hospice. . .
update: RIP former U.S. Sen. George McGovern. I don't have many memories of him firsthand. I do recall my parents did NOT vote for him, despite rarely deviating from voting Democratic, because his anti-Vietnam stance was seen as too extreme by my parents. Keep in mind in that in 72, my Dad was only 3 years removed from his time in Vietnam.
Benghazi Fallout
Nice to see Hilary Clinton throw herself on a sword for the President over his failure in Libya . . . I don't buy it, but I'm not the target audience.
Ginger's 5th Birthday Party - pt 2
After her birthday party we
completed the 2nd half of Lump/Ginger's 5th Birthday celebration - a trip to
the State Fair!
We got lucky at the admission booth.
Unbeknownst to us it was a family day, and I think the total cost of admissions for the six of us was $10 at most. Sweet.
Our first stop was the expo
building, which is always the center of the fair for me. Within one aisle
though, the kids spotted a rock climbing wall and insisted on giving it a shot.
Lu tried it and climbed to the top. Ginger tried it and fearlessly climbed as
high as she could (not far). Smiley refused to give it a shot until the girls
had already done, and then hemmed and hawed and got all of five or six feet in
the air before giving up.Yikes
.
Next up was the Nail Ritz booth,
where Lisa worked each year. The kids all had designs painted on their
nails, even Smiley (a macho skull and crossbones for him) and Lisa bought a kit
for home.
We wandered through the expo building for a bit longer but the kids got on our nerves, wanting this and this
and that until it was insufferable. Enough of that - outside we went.
We walked around for a minute or
two, got some lemonade and just barely missed the pig races. The kids did
partake of the Giant Slide and enjoyed the heck out of it.
Then we went and
looked at some of the animal buildings, where they 'drove' a tractor and
combine and played in a pit of grain before Lisa sat the kids down for a group
photo for her key chain.
An unbend-able rule of parenthood:
one kid will always - ALWAYS -
do something goofy that ruins an otherwise great picture. This time around
Smiley looked all askew, but the other three kids looked so great it was still
worth the money. While we were waiting for the picture I bought a small box of
legendary cream puffs knocking that off our annual checklist. Unfortunately the
heat later made my cream puffs liquefy and drip all over my leg (eww), so I
never got to enjoy them as I would have liked.
From there it was onto the midway,
or whatever they called the area this year. Here we split up. I waited for Lu
and YaYa, who decided to ride a couple of rides together, including Pharaoh's Fury. Smiley had insisted on going to the haunted house, so Lisa went with the
two little one's.
When we reunited I got the whole
scoop. As I had expected, Smiley chickened out and wouldn't even wait in line
for the haunted house, much less go inside. Likewise, he refused to chance any
ride that Lisa suggested. Eventually, fed up with waiting for her brother,
Ginger simply went on a pair of rides by herself, drawing stares from scared
nine year olds who would never brave it solo themselves.
Good for you, Ginger. Smiley . . .
well, Smiley, this isn't your most
glorious tale. :)
But the irony of it is that Smiley's
refusal to ride led to the biggest individual score of the day. He used his
share of ride tickets to play some carnival games and took home a royal blue
squid hat!
After the last of the tickets were
used up, and dusk was settling in, I bought the kids foot long corn dogs and we
all had a seat on the grass where we watched a super high, super cool looking
ride be serviced. (apparently, not only was it mechanically suspect but it had
been installed far too close to buildings for comfort). We left this little
oasis when some schumtz made a comment on how "kids shouldn't run in
sandals" - refering to Ginger - and I felt my dander rise.
(one note: around this time we
passed a camel ride. I wanted to ride, but the weight limit was set at 275.
This inspired me and I hope to use this as a goal for next year)
With night now upon us we returned
to the expo building. In due course I bought:
Lisa a gold anklet
the household a set of ShamWows
myself a calfskin wallet with built
in coin purse (it's in my pocket as I type)
Lu a twig made into a pencil, a
giant pickle, a green peace sign necklace and some stuff I can't remember
YaYa got her eybrows threaded and an
owl ring
Ginger and Smiley both got stuffed
animals, although Lisa and I both hated buying them because the vendor was a
jerk who wouldn't negotiate the price.
There was a gold crucifix there that
I really wanted but couldn't justify buying at the time. Here's a picture of
it, just in case Santa is listening :)
So in summary: some exasperating
moments with the kids, but all in all a fun way to round off Ginger's birthday,
and with all the walking not a bad day of exercise either!
************
Monday, October 15, 2012
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Tonight Lisa and I watched "We Need to Talk About Kevin", a film that follows a woman as she struggles to deal with her son and the school killings he committed. I begged off on this film for months, knowing it would bum me out, and I was right. It is essentially a two hour assault on your soul, and it isn't gentle in the process. My own issues aside, it is a relentless and unapologetic recap of a Bad Seed and his mother, who, even at birth, sensed something was wrong with her child. Lead actress Tilda Swinton has earned rightful acclaim for her portrayal of the mom, but I think the two boys of different ages who played the son deserve the true recognition. I'll grade this an A, with a caveat that you may just slit your wrist in its wake.
My first month or so on Facebook - June/July '09
Tired, and
amazed at G.H.W. Bush's energy
Former
president George H.W. Bush celebrated his 85th birthday by jumping out of an
airplane.
June 12, 2009 at 8:30 pm 
Annoyed at
the amount of noise coming from the street. It's 2am on a Monday morning - get
in your car and go home already.
June 15,
2009 at 1:59 am
Just put
Ginger down for a nap. I've been calling the dentist for Lisa - the insurance
claims not to have received their request for approval. I'm also writing some
reviews for Slapinions to post later in the year. Meanwhile, Smiley's at a
picnic and the
June 15,
2009 at 12:14 pm
Watching
I-Carly with Smiley and Ginger
June 15,
2009 at 5:49 pm
LuLu's K5
GraduationThis past week featured a big day for LuLu, the graduation ceremonies
that moved her from the world of kindergarten into First Grade. We got there
just in the nick of time to see her class stroll ...Read More
June 15, 2009 at 5:49 pm
tired.
kids and their friends are playing in the basement, no doubt destroying
whatever's left in one piece down there.
June 17,
2009 at 10:56 am
trying to
type a post on Slapinons while Smiley stands behind me on the chair pulling my
necklace taunt and yelling "Elmo now daddy! Elmo now!".
June 17,
2009 at 4:18 pm
Just got
done helping my friend Socialist replace the wax seal and bolts on my toilet.
By 'help' I mean I entertained him with anecdotes while he did all the work.
June 17,
2009 at 5:38 pm
Happy.
Journal's assigned me to write a column for July 2nd.
June 19,
2009 at 11:21 am
I'm
wondering why no one from my grade school class appears to be on Facebook. I
even dug out an old school group photo to make sure I spelled the names
correctly, but no dice. You have to figure some of the girls now live under
married names, but still,
June 19,
2009 at 8:04 pm
Just
watching the College World Series game I recorded earlier tonight. Not happy
that LSU won the earlier game and ousted Ark., but whatcha gonna do?
June 19,
2009 at 11:30 pm
Sorry for
the back-to-back thoughts, but I just noticed that my sidebar here features an
ad for a "Guarenteed Resume $34.95." If they can't spell their
service correctly in the ad, chances are their work isn't going to impress many
employers.
June 19,
2009 at 11:35 pm
More
problems with the construction of Miler Park, following Friday's rain. Parts of
the roof were destroyed, the service area was flooded, and public records
stored at the stadium were destroyed.
June 21, 2009 at 6:59 pm
I should
point out that the order is somewhat mixed up. It's a Wondeful Life should be
#1 on the list, as it is my favorite movie of all time. And you haven't seen it
unless you've seen it in a theater full of people buzzed on Christmas wine.
Favorite
movies of all time by Daniel The Godfather, Titanic, It's a Wonderful
Life, Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments.
June 23, 2009 at 2:12 am
Just took
out two bags of water damaged trash from the basement, including (sniff) my
beloved Zombie Halloween Costume! Plus I'm covered in waterlogged cat litter,
but who cares -my zombie costume is ruined!
June 23,
2009 at 10:40 pm
Just
emailed my column to the Journal, with a little time to spare. Not the easiest
one to write, but I think it turned out ok. Oh, and LSU took the College World
Series w/ a lopsided win today, so congrats to them. Woulda preferred Texas to
win the crown
June 25,
2009 at 1:17 am
Just got
this in an email from the J. editor: "Dan, nice column by the way. Not too
political, but gets at the importance of freedom and Fourth of July. " It
must not have been as bad as I feared ;)
June 25,
2009 at 3:39 pm
Taking Lu
in for a last minute doctor's visit. She's got an awful hacking cough. Guess
she inherited my family's allergies.
June 26,
2009 at 11:11 am
Just got
home from work. Tired and my feet ache.
June 26,
2009 at 11:59 pm
Just got
back from a rare dinner out with Lisa. One kid at grandma's, one at my sis, two
watched at home with a babysitter.
June 27,
2009 at 11:50 pm
Trying to
Facebook while the baby hangs on my leg, jabbing a pencil at the screen and
chating "Momma" as she points at my profile pic.
June 28,
2009 at 12:52 pm
Billy Mays
of OxiClean Fame, Dead at 50CNN is reporting that Billy Mays, the popular
bearded pitchman for OxiClean and other products, as well as a star of his own
reality series, was found dead in his Tampa home at age 50.
June 28, 2009 at 1:42 pm
'House
Hunters' is on in the background. A young couple (early 20's) are spending
Daddy's $$ on their first house and (eek!) the girl is upset that the indoor
pool doesn't have its own waterfall, and that the floors are mahogany and not
carpet. Poor baby.
June 29,
2009 at 12:53 am
A former
Match Game panelist dies of cancer. Bad week for celebrities.
Comedian
and impersonator Fred Travalena died Sunday afternoon after a seven-year battle
with cancer. He was 66.
June 29, 2009 at 9:26 am
Just got
back from a brisk 30 minute bike ride with YaYa, then practiced some hitting.
After all that when I went on the computer (robbing her of her precious Club
Penguin) she spazzed out and said she hated her bike and baseball too. Jeez
kid, learn to c
June 30,
2009 at 12:12 pm
I just
found our copy of MJ's HIStory. Can't find my AWOL college diploma, but at
least I can locate CD's we bought 14 years ago.
June 30,
2009 at 10:40 pm
Just a
reminder - a column of mine will appear in today's Journal-Sentinel. If you're
in WI, kindly pick up a copy.
July 2,
2009 at 2:07 am
Got a text
from Lis @ ~12 saying they were 75 miles outside of DuBuque, IA. West of the
Mississippi my city to city geography gets a little sketchy, so I have no idea
if they're making good time.
July 2,
2009 at 1:48 pm [Lisa and company were en route to Kansas for
a NKOTB show]
[Lisa and company were en route to Kansas for
a NKOTB show]
Man, this
sucks. I'll say a prayer for the soldier and his family. I suggest the Taliban
responsible start praying hard too, because I imagine the US forces scouring
the area aren't going to be in the mood to play nice.
The
American soldier abducted in southeastern Afghanistan is now being held by a
notorious militant clan, a senior U.S. military official said.
July 2, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Listening
to my daughter watching Ghostbusters II in the living room. Yeah, it's late. So
what? I had to drive the babysitter home after work, which meant taking the
kids with me. She'll fall asleep on the couch soon enough.
July 2,
2009 at 11:42 pm
So let me
get this straight. The Honduran president violates the constitution in his quest
for power. The Supreme Court then orders the military to oust him and restore
democratic, legal rule. And in response to the legal removal of this communist
nut the White House cuts aid to the country. Beautiful.
July 3, 2009 at 11:55 am
Just got
home 10 minutes ago. A long day, and i look forward to reading/writing in a
quiet house. I still have to make that cake, but that *shouldn't* be a big
deal. Famous last words, eh?
July 3,
2009 at 11:24 pm
I thought
the kids were asleep but they just ran downstairs all full of fake terror,
giggling over Smiley having an accident in bed. I'm not even 100% it's true. I
wouldn't put it past those girls to dump water on him and fib just to ruin his
night.
July 3,
2009 at 11:29 pm
Yeah, all
b.s. to get out of bed. Smiley's asleep and dry as a bone. No liquid within
five yards.
July 3,
2009 at 11:32 pm
Dying to
take a shower, but waiting for the cake to come out of the oven. I think it's
thermostat must be going , and lately baking times have to be played strictly
by ear.
July 4,
2009 at 12:25 am
I'm
beating my chest ala Tarzan. The cake is out of the oven and light and fluffy
and golden brown. A thing of beauty, like looking at myself in carbohydrate
form.
July 4,
2009 at 12:40 am
in an
effort to gobble up some more federal money Gov. Doyle's new budget makes seat
belt enforcement a 'priority' issue . So now cops can pull you over for nothing
more than seeing you without a seat belt on - and for shi*s and giggles under
the guise of "I thought he wasn't wearing one judge!". Absolute bunk.
I wear my seat belt, but in no way/shape/form is it the busines of anyone else,
esp. the gov't.
July 5, 2009 at 3:23 pm
My son's
school bus failed to arrive this morning, Now I have to . . . well, naturally
the bus just pulled up, 21 minutes late :)
July 6,
2009 at 8:08 am
Former
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, a key architect of the U.S. war in
Vietnam under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, has died at age
93, according to his family.
July 6, 2009 at 11:45 am
We found
out about this in an odd way. We called to schedule the baby's birthday party
and were curtly told the restaurant was evacuating, could we please call back
later? The fire continues to burn in Cudahy.
Cudahy
city officials are continuing to urge residents within a one-mile radius of the
burning Patrick Cudahy plant to evacuate their homes immediately while a fire
continues to rage more than 10 hours after the blaze was first reported late
Sunday.
July 6, 2009 at 11:48 am
Yay! My
son is home. I HATE that he takes a school bus, esp. since his summer speech
program is at a diff. school, miles away from the one he knows. If he could say
more than a couple dozen words - if he could voice his name and address - I'd
feel much be
July 6,
2009 at 1:25 pm
Watching/DVR'ing
the Michael Jackson memorial service on CNN.
July 7,
2009 at 12:37 pm
Right now
Mariah Carey is peforming "I'll Be There" at the memorial. I don't
care what anyone says, NKOTB did a better cover of the song.
July 7,
2009 at 12:43 pm
I'm saving
my venom for when/if he officially signs with Minnesota.
A Brett
Favre signing with the Minnesota Vikings is expected to be announced in time
for the start of the team's single-game ticket sales July 20. The Vikings will
play Favre's former team, the Green Bay Packers, Oct. ...
July 7, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Just back
from my niece's 13th birthday party. We listened to the rest of the MJ memorial
in the car, as V100 was broadcasting it live. (Probably the only time you'll hear
me with that on my car stereo :)
July 7,
2009 at 6:53 pm
I just
checked my gmail account. It's cool to get emails from people who read my
occasional columns, and it *almost* makes me feel like an actual, grown up
writer. But man! I can't believe the time some people have to devote to these
things. Some are long
July 7,
2009 at 11:57 pm
Why is it
. . .That a cell phone conversation in a public place is a thousand * times
more infuriating than if the offender was yakking face to face?
July 8, 2009 at 8:48 pm
A Florida
couple was slain in their home while 8 of their 16 children were present. 12 of
the 16 children had been adopted knowing they had developmental disabilities
and/or other issues.
July 10, 2009 at 9:55 pm
As a
Certified Pool Operator at Job Prior, I can tell you the only way you're
getting knocked up in a swimming pool is if you do it the old fashioned way.
What's upsetting to me is the woman is Polish. Like we didn't have enough
reasons for people to poke fun at us.
Magdalena
Kwiatkowska of Poland thinks you can. She is suing an Egyptian hotel because
she claims her 13-year-old daughter became impregnated after swimming in its
pool during their recent holiday. Ms.Kwiatkowska ...
July 10, 2009 at 11:22 pm
I don't
know what's going on. I look at some sites in IE and pics are missing. I go to
a different browser and they're there. So one of my posts may or may not need
to be corrected. I guess I'll wait til morning, reboot, and go from there.
July 11,
2009 at 1:06 am
Just back
from the Frolics parade, followed by a little league game. Tired.
July 11,
2009 at 2:03 pm
anyone
going to the circus parade?
July 12,
2009 at 11:24 am
Just got
done watching The Unborn. Full review to follow, as you've grown to expect and
detest, but as a sneak peek: it was worth the rental fee.
July 13,
2009 at 1:40 am
A glass
plate just exploded in the microwave, scattering pieces across the kitchen and
just narrowly missing Lisa. I guess that wasn't microwave safe after all.
July 13,
2009 at 11:22 am
Whoo-hoo!
I worked tonight and didn't get the results until now. Congrats Prince!
Tonight
was supposed to be Albert Pujols' night, but Prince Fielder and Nelson Cruz had
other ideas.
July 14, 2009 at 12:30 am
Just
finished a column and sent it in. Now I'm going to bed. 'Nite
July 14,
2009 at 3:11 am
Tonight's
the All-Star game, which means the annual man only feast at my place. Dale,
Jason - c'mon down if you can make it.
July 14,
2009 at 3:37 pm
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