This has not been a great day. Still 8 hours left to stem the tide.
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!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Sinister
Also on Monday: "Sinister", a horror movie with Ethan Hawke. He plays a true crime writer who uncovers sadistic home movies of entire families being killed, thus exposing what appears to be a previously unknown serial killer. Unfortunately, that's only sorta-kinda the case, and you get the feeling this isn't going to end well.
Scary? I covered my eyes a few times during moments of lost-manhood, and I have no hesitation in saying its the creepiest soundtrack ever. It didn't help that one of the murder sites featured my street address (!) which was repeated over and over in one scene just to make me squirm.
For some reason, when we went to bed that night, our computer TWICE turned on for no reason in the middle of the night, waking us ala the movie. After the second time I unplugged it from the wall and huddled under my blanket, literally praying it wouldn't somehow turn on again and prove that we were F*ed. LOL Grade: A+
Lincoln
On Monday I watched Spielberg’s “Lincoln”. Daniel Day-Lewis deserves all the accolades that come his way; wow, what a performance. As to the movie as a whole: I think it carries itself well enough to appeal to a general audience, but you need to be a history nut to properly relish it. After all, a movie about the passing of a constitutional amendment is not a shoot em up, and at times even I was a little “speed it up pardner”. What it does well – exceptionally well – is highlight Lincoln’s genius, his ideal combination of idealism and practicality, velvet glove and iron fist. Even as he argues for a gentle reconciliation, he exposes Civil War South and its apologists for what they were: the enslavers of an entire people, willing to betray oath and nation to protect their wealth - at enormous loss of life - under the masquerade of “state’s rights”. Grade: A
Monday, January 28, 2013
A Walk
I took advantage of the 40 degree weather and walked the kids home from school today (~1.5 miles), the first time we've done it since October. The oldest three kids did fine but Junie. . . whoah nellie was she a pain in the butt. She was not pleased.
An Update on the Fridge
Socialist just left. We got the refrigerator door rehung. The metal pin that secured it on the bottom had broken off, and the odds of finding a replacement part quickly were slim. Then I noticed that the other end of the door held the parts needed to move the hinges to the other side of the door - including a spare pin. We pilfered it and got it back in place. Total cost: $10 for his time.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
One of those days
Dinner was great: meatloaf made by Lisa and Junie, mashed potatoes peeled by YaYa and broccoli cut and seasoned by Smiley. At the table the kids were polite and friendly and it was just generally a great time.
And then . . . when putting the leftovers away our refrigerator door FELL OFF. I don't know if it's fixable, but I've got it jerry-rigged until Socialist can take a look tomorrow.
And then . . . YaYa reported that I'd left my wallet and checkbook in my pants when I put them in the wash. Good thing I have no money to my name or their complete annihilation might have upset me.
I swear, you live in a sitcom. - Fred
Friday, January 25, 2013
Remix
Just listened to the new New Kids on the Block single "Remix (I like the)". Maybe it'll grow on me, but I don't think it's their strongest effort. On the other hand, it's Joey and Donnie centric, which was an unexpected and pleasant surprise.
50 Years
The 2nd Hunger Games movie will be released on the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination (and both are Friday's). I find that disturbing. In happier news, the following day will mark the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who!
45 years
I regret I didn't do the math sooner, but this past Monday (January 21st) marked the 45th anniversary of my Dad's arrival in-country for his tour in Vietnam. Thank you for your service Pop!
Hell in a Very Small Place
Recently I finished reading Hell in a Very Small Place: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu by Bernard B. Fall. Fall was a noted historian of the Vietnamese
wars of the mid-20th century, and Hell . . . is his famous work on the French defeat that ended their
rule in Southeast Asia.
All failures, especially ones as massive as Dien Bien Phu,
breed blame, and every mistake seems to glow in the dark in hindsight. Most of
the time I take these critiques with a grain of salt, since they are rarely
obvious in the moment; if they could see the cliff ahead of them, who in their
right mind would choose to keep walking?
Dienn Bien Phu, however, bucks that trend.
It isn't that the French chose to build their camp on the
floor of a valley, surrendering the high ground to the enemy. It isn't that the
base was in the middle of nowhere, making reinforcement and supply dependent on
air power, which in turn relied on an air force that was short on numbers. It isn't that the rationale behind building
the camp expired before the battle began. It isn't that the French refused to
properly fortify the base, or that they knew going in they’d be radically
outnumbered. It isn't that the two senior generals in charge of the effort
hated one another, or that the base was built, not only on a valley floor, but on
a valley floor subject to up to 5 feet – feet! – of rain during part of the
year.
It’s all of the above, and more. Hindsight, schmindsight,
this promised disaster from the start, and it delivered.
And yet . . . .
Against incredible odds, the base held from mid-March of
1954 to the first week of May, inflicting terrific losses on the
Viet-Minh. The leadership on the ground
– excluding the debacle of the first attack – was largely superb, given the
situation, and the determination and grit of the garrison won my respect. For
seven weeks they fought pitched infantry battles nearly non-stop, sometimes
losing and regaining a hill in the same night. They fought on short rations and
under an unending artillery barrage, sometimes in water and mud up to their waist.
The battlefield was a stinking cesspool layered with thousands of dead. The
military hospital, built to accommodate forty-four wounded, now serviced a
thousand or more at a time. A wound was not a guaranty of rest; given the dire
situation and the manpower shortage men fought on having lost a limb or an eye.
When the battle was over, the suffering was not; they were
marched to prison camps that amounted to death camps. In the end, less than 20%
of the POW’s survived to return home.
Fall makes a convincing case that American intervention, in
the form of massive air strikes, could have, if not forced a victory, at least
staved off defeat. Written in the ‘60’s, he is contemptuous of Eisenhower’s
refusal to intervene and imparts a strong moralistic tone to his argument. I
think he is wrong.
Perhaps an American intervention could have stemmed the
tide. But having just exited the Korean War, intervening on behalf of a
colonial power (one with no viable strategy for success) and risking another
shooting war with China did not, and does not, give the appearance of sound
policy. The fact that it “may” have eliminated the need for America’s war a
decade later is irrelevant; not only is that far from certain, it presupposes
that the American conflict was inevitable or necessary. I’m with Ike on this
one.
A great book. I strongly recommend it.
Grade: A+
Thursday, January 24, 2013
AT&T Sucks
I cannot put into words how much AT&T sucks. My bill has doubled in the last month as promotions end, they promised to call me back Monday regarding a billing issue and never did, I have been transferred today from India to the Deep South, back to India and finally to someone with a generic, Midwestern accent. (she was no help to me, but at least I could understand her). Oh, and in between they accidentally disconnected me. Yikes.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
American Idol
I'm watching Idol w/ Lisa, and let me tell you: I have developed a major crush on Nicki Minaj. Cute, sexy, funny, and the *clear* leader of the pane by force of personality and intelligence. As for the fight with Mariah, she's right: they are obsessed with pigeonholing these singers and forcing them into a mold, and kudos to her for calling out the pompous and dull Mariah. As Lisa said in a text to me "w/o Nicki I'd b yawnin"
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
The Following
Watched the pilot of Kevin Bacon's "The Following". A little formulaic, plus I'm sick of Poe being misused as a demented inspiration, but I'll continue to watch the show. As for Maggie Grace . . . .welllll, the woman tries, I'll give her that.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Medieval Madness
Saturday night was my step-father-in-law's 75th birthday party at Organ Piper Pizza. In the arcade there I found something Carlos H and Dale C might remember: a Medieval Madness pinball machine. True talent doesn't fade with time, and soon not only was I making that machine my [redacted] I had a group of fans watching my performance: kids, teens, and even a cute blonde. I earned two free games and strutted away, giving the games away to my adoring crowd. It was, somewhat sadly, the premier athletic accomplishment of my life. BAM!
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Congrats to Lu!
Congrats are in order for LuLu and the Cudahy Girls Basketball Club, who finished 3rd in the Oak Creek Shootout Tournament yesterday!
Congrats!
Kudos to Entourage's daughter Meadow for her MLK Day essay, which won an MPS contest and was published (with her picture) in the Journal-Sentinel.
A Great Quote
"History doesn't repeat itself - at best it sometimes rhymes" - Mark Twain. One of the smartest quotes of all time.
Cloud Atlas
I watched "Cloud Atlas", the Tom Hanks/Halle Berry movie based on the great book by the same name. It's a long film with characters and storylines inter-weaved across centuries. I liked it, even if I think it would have been better served by trimming a few scenes, like the Cavendish adventure. I don't quite understand why the film was ignored by the Oscars. Worst case scenario it's an ambitious film with stunning visuals, and certainly worth a nod in (at least) a technical category.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
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