Dear Abby

 RIP Pauline Phillips, better known as Dear Abby, age 94.

American Idol Season 12

My verdict on American Idol Season 12? So far Keith Urban might as well not be there for the impact he has, Mariah Carey has no personality, unless you count the occasional bit**yness, Randy is still Randy, and against all odds, Nicki Minaj is shaping up to be not only an endearing and effective judge, but a highlight of the show.

The Chuck E Cheese Christmas Bash!

Last week Monday (1/7/13) my Mother-In-Law held her annual Christmas outing at Chuck-E-Cheese, a holiday present for the kids in our circle. As usual, it was a blast, and we stayed until 9 pm!

 The day was best recorded by the 'sketchbook' booth at CEC. I don't know what technology it uses, but I LOVE that program. 

Here's Junie/Ginger and her friend Tempe

Junie and her Grandma

Junie and her Mom

Here's two of my beautiful ladies - YaYa and her Mom

Lisa and her entourage

LuLu and Meadow

Me and my lady

Here's Smiley, and Smiley and Lisa. 

Speaking of Smiley, he won the annual contest to win the Gingerbread House (this year a tree) that my mother-in-law crafts and places in a glass jar handed down from her mother. Smiley was thrilled to win it, as it has been all but owned in recent years by the Entourage's kids! 'Bout time we got to taste the treat (and btw, LuLu would scream at me if I didn't mention she'd helped Grandma make it)

The Layover aka Abducted

The only high point of the last 36 hours was watching "Abducted" (also known as "the Layover" an awful film in which Lauren Holley plays a hospitality mogul kidnapped by sex traffickers in Detroit. There's no nudity in the film, very little blood, and absolutely no story worth watching. BUT it does have a great, unintentionally hilarious line: "I'm not saying you're all hags, but at best you're Detroit Pretty". Worth the price of the rental right there.

So Far

So far I've spent the first day and 1/3 of my days off coughing up a lung or passed out in bed. I should have called in over the weekend when this thing hit and been done with it, but noooooo, I am a prisoner to my childhood and refuse to skip work/school unless I'm dying. Which, at the moment, it feels like might just be happening.

It's All We Have Left

As our culture and our nation continues its slide into full Suckassyness, one bastion of our grand past still stands tall: The Match Game.  Where have you gone Gene Rayburn, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you (woo woo woo).

The First Two Books of 2012

Today I finished my first book of the year, ‘The Lawgiver’, a new novel by the great Herman Wouk. It’s the story, told in epistolary format, of the pre-production troubles of a film about Moses. The book was written by Wouk as a concession to his decades-long inability to finish a book on the Old Testament figure, and he and his wife are included as characters in the novel.  I liked it well enough, and Wouk seems technologically savvy despite his advanced age (he’s in his late ‘90’s) but don’t kid yourself. This isn’t in the same class as his masterpieces. What bothered me greatly was that for all the talk about how complex Moses was and how difficult a subject he is, very, very little of the book is given over to explaining why that is so, or to attempting to unravel that enigma.  Grade: B-+

I’ve also finished ‘Your House is on Fire, Your Children All Gone’, a novel by Stefan Kiesbye. It reads as a collection of interconnected short stories centered on a small group of children in post-war Germany. It has been widely acclaimed as a gem of literary horror, but while I found some of the stories well developed and chilling, most of them left me feeling empty.  I have to say, this one was a bit of a disappointment. Grade: B

LOL

Txt from Lisa: I wish u could appreciate mac n cheese . . . I feel like it keeps us apart a bit ;)

2 Books In!

Started - and finished - my first two books of the year in the last 12 hours. Yeah, you read that right. I'm just that good. BAM!

R.L. Stine books dont count. - Justin F

Uh, they were Christopher Pike, thank you. - Me

I was gonna say Bernstein Bears, but I figured I'd give you a little more credit. - Justin F

Two Pics of the Kids

I took these pictures (actually, I think either LuLu or YaYa took them) in the van on Christmas Eve. Not the best quality, but worth a laugh!