A Big Day!

Big week for Team Slap. On Monday we got a new washer, ending three months of trudging over to the laundromat. Today we picked up a free 40 gallon aquarium with all the fixings from a friend who was getting rid of it Hot dog!

Ken Norton

Boxer Ken Norton, a heavyweight champion that beat Ali and has a connection to my father-in-law (Dennis was a sparring partner), died today. He was 70. RIP

Just. Too. Cute

On Tuesday Smiley's homework included writing a synonym for each of his spelling words. One word was 'cone'; his synonym? "Mommy". 

[In case you don't know Lisa's maiden name was "Kohn" and I often call her "Kohn" or "Kohnie" as a pet name, a practice that really only seems odd when you read it in print.]

Dancing with the Stars

Just watched the Dancing with the Stars premiere for the 2nd time (I missed some of the acts yesterday). It's good to have it back on the air. It was a long off-season :)

Elite Eight

Books, history, movies, reality TV, pop music, dining out, God and family . . . my Elite Eight

Disrespect

A summary of the media's disrespect for Alex Rodriguez (courtesy of BTF)

1996: 9.31 WAR, just behind Griffey (crazy credit for defense to Griffey that year) but 2nd in MVP to Juan Gonzalez despite a higher OPS, scoring 52 more runs, and playing SS instead of a poor RF.

1997: despite a 846 OPS and 5.6 WAR he didn't get even a 10th place vote while Tino Martinez came in 2nd with a 948 OPS at 1B and 5.08 WAR. Even a guy with negative WAR got 2 votes (Deivi Cruz for Detroit)

1998: 919 OPS, 8.50 WAR but Gonzalez gets his 2nd MVP while A-Rod comes in 9th. Yes, ninth! He even had a 40 HR, 40 SB season that year. He led in WAR for hitters by nearly a full win over Jeter (3rd place).

1999: 943 OPS, 4.76 WAR (injured) and 15th place, about right for that season

2000: 1.026 OPS, 10.29 WAR and 3rd place behind 2 1B who cannot field (Giambi and Thomas)

2001: 1.021 OPS, 8.36 WAR and 6th place, Ichiro's year.

2002: 1.015 OPS, 8.81 WAR 2nd place to another SS who had a 861 OPS and 5.6 WAR (Tejada) who got it due to his team having that amazing 20 game winning streak

2003: Voters give in and let him win at last - He is 2.2 WAR ahead of all other hitters (Pedro had a great year again, Loaiza also had more WAR than non-ARod hitters) but he gets just 6 first place votes while a guy with 3.12 WAR (Shannon Stewart) gets 3 first place votes (yes, voters can be pretty dumb).

2004: In NY now, 4th in WAR but 14th in voting

2005: Wins again, led in WAR by over 2 wins so hard to ignore but 16 first place votes while Ortiz who hit worse than A-Rod by almost any measure (Avg/OBP/Slg/HR/SB) gets 11 first place votes

2006: poor year ('just' 4.46 WAR)

2007: Wins again, led in WAR by nearly 2 wins again, gets all but 2 first place votes

2008: 6.8 WAR, 2nd among hitters but 8th in MVP voting

2009 to now: 4.2 is his best WAR since and hasn't finished higher than 10th in MVP voting.

Awwwww

Last week we took the kids out to eat and mentioned to YaYa that it was the same place [Neds] where, as a 5 year old, she cried and wailed when Lisa told her she wouldn't be able to marry me when she grew up. When she was told the story YaYa  nudged me in the ribs and said "The offer still stands Dad." :)

My Thoughts

Absolutely no disrespect to the kid who walked into the Greenfield police station and donated his hard earned $10 in change - great story and  his heart's in the right place -  but where were his parents? Sure, no matter where it goes ten bucks isn't going to move mountains, but if one of my kids wanted to do something like that I'd gently direct them to donate the money where it could do some real good for the community, like the food bank, homeless shelter, etc. Use the moment to educate them about where they can make a difference in the world, even at their age.  Letting your kid walk into a police station and hand over his allowance  seems . . .well, I've leave it at that.

Health Nut

If you go by Lisa's obscene definition of 'healthy', then I guess I made an error by baking chocolate chip cookies for the kids' breakfast.

it wasn't even even breakfast, it was "pre-breakfast snack" I think you called it.... - Lisa

A Shooting in DC

At least 12 dead at the Navy Shipyard in DC; rumored to be two shooters, one or both still on the loose . . .

At least 3000 people in DC are being told to "shelter in place". CBS ID'd one of the gunmen as a Naval officer, then retracted the claim.

Congrats!

Belated congrats to Floyd Mayweather on schooling Canelo Saturday night. :) I was working but followed it round by round on the internet. 

Daddy's Back

Wide-eyed Junie, upon seeing my newly regrown goatee today: "My Daddy's back, my Daddy's back!" then skipped away

You've had it so long, I totally understand her sentiment :) My hubby's back my hubby's back ...lol - Lisa

Taylor Swift Concert, 2011

This is Yaya writing again.

In 2011, my dad was supposed to pick us up to go spend our Super Reader subs coupons. My dad came late, and the whole family had to wait on the porch. Being my normal self, when my dad did pick us up, I had to say something about the wait.

'' Ugh, dude... why'd ya keep us waiting so long? Did you get in an accident along the way or something? '' I said, plopping into the car. My dad turned around, and handed me a piece of paper-

'' I was late because I was picking these up. ''

As soon as I new what the paper was, I squealed. My dad had gotten me tickets to the Taylor Swift concert! Plus, it was in an hour... I didn't have to wait forever! My mom was going with me, too, and that made it even better.

Here's some pics.

Posing by a Taylor Swift Cover Girl ad

Smiling like the Cheshire Cat once we got to our seats

I'm not sure which song this was, but I believe it was ' Back to December ' 

Halfway through the show, Taylor walked down the aisles and got on a spinning tree- playing a BANJO.

At the end of the show. Taylor soared above the crowd in  fake balcony, singing Love Story- even got close to us, and we were in the nosebleed seats. I regret I didn't get a picture of it, but the concert itself was amazing.

The Yanks Return

I've been gaga for days after hearing that my beloved Yanks are returning to Miller Park next year (their last visit was in '05, when an infant Parker had the privilege of watching A-Rod hit his 399th and 400th home runs). I have already informed Team Slap that even if it means skipping the mortgage in May we WILL be there for the three game series, dressed in Yankees apparel and cheering them on to an easy sweep of the Brewers. 

This last point brought protests from Lisa & LuLu, both of whom said they wouldn't go if they had to root against the Crew. "Fine," I said. "You don't have to root for the Yankees . . . but if you don't, you don't eat or drink at the game. I don't feed the opposition." Lisa simply flipped me off and moved on, but Lu wisely caved and was embraced in the loving arms of the Evil Empire . . .

Mayweather-Canelo

Oooeee, I can't wait for the Mayweather-Canelo bout tonight! I wish I wasn't working - and had the $ for the pay per view - so I could watch it live. I hope Floyd puts that ginger on the canvas, but no matter how he does it, Mayweather walks out 45-0.

Roar

Ok, I didn't *want* to like the damn song, but Katy Perry's "Roar" has been bouncing around my head for four days now. You win Katy. (but as for that "natural" look in her video - I think it makes her look ten years older.)

My Yanks are Surging

The Yankees, resurgent since the return of Alex Rodriguez, are a mere one game back from a wild card slot. I hope/pray for the following: that A-Rod takes the Yanks on his shoulders and leads them to the post-season, brings home a ring, and gives a giant "F U" to Selig, Cashman, and the so-called  "Captain", Derek Jeter, who has consistently stolen the accolades and praise that Alex deserves.

A-Rod Update

If he was eligible, A-Rod's OPS (On-Base plus Slugging %) would rank 7th in the AL this year . . oh, and didya notice that after his game tying home run last night he made a "zip it" motion to a fan that had been mouthing off to him during the at bat? BEAUTIFUL. :)

A-Rod has been walked three times tonight, at least once intentionally . . . I 'ppreciate the respect, but let the man hit!

A Wasted Day

A wasted day. A morning appointment ran long, right up to the time we had to pick up the kids from school. So it was a dash across town to grab them, then a quick dinner of jambalaya, followed by . . . .really, nothing else. I did tape 'X Factor' so there's something to retrospectively recommend this day, but otherwise BLEH.

MNF

Thank you ESPN and the Houston Texans. That was a mighty fine end to Monday Night Football.

The New Arsenio Show

We just finished watching the premiere of the new Arsenio talk show. Now I remember why I didn't like the original. Arsenio tells one funny joke then tanks six but still laughs at every one, mentions his "friend Eddie Murphy" every half hour, and just bores me. Still, maybe he's just rusty. We'll see.

I kinda liked it...kinda, lol - Lisa

Fantasy Football Update

Unless Victor Brown racks up 74.95 points tonight for my opponent, the Sad Sack Slapjacks have started the season 1-0. Booyah! (current score: 139.25 to 64.30)

{Fred resolves to try Google Translate to see if it speaks Football. }

Fred, I keep telling you that a basic knowledge of sports is social lubricant and necessary for happiness.

A New Routine

I walked the kids to school this morning. It's only about 1/3 of the distance (one-way) of their old stomping grounds, but it'll still be a nice addition to our routine. Oh - and once again, no ACL pain whatsoever. Whoot-whoot!

What If?

Controversial opinion of the day: Germany is remembered as the big "bad guy" of the 20th century, and it's a title they deserve. But did it have to be that way? Let's go back to late 1914, at the start of what *should* have been another one of the continental spats that let off steam between the contemporary superpowers. It seemed over from the start, with Germany swinging into France via Belgium and closing in on Paris, and then . . . . 

And then. 

King Leopold of Belgium, knowing his army was outmatched and doomed, sacrificed it in a delaying action against the Germans. Aside from the fact that no one wants to just roll over and let the other guy win, Leopold was acting to fulfil a British demand to buy time for their own forces. As the Kaiser found out, Leopold was a man of his word. 

The Germans were delayed, the push on Paris faltered, and a minor conflict morphed into the first World War. What's more, the German's didn't react very well to Belgian obstinacy, and their reprisals created a stream of (exaggerated) propaganda that fed Allied sentiment and eventually helped eroded American isolationism. 

So in many ways, ol' King Leopold is the true hero of the war. Right? Perhaps. 

But let's think about an alternative view. 

Say Leopold had thumbed his nose at the British and chose to grant Germany passage through Belgium, while providing only enough resistance to keep his honor - and his country - intact. What may have happened? 

France would have fallen, the British, who at the time had very little in the way of land forces in Europe, would have bowed out and the Western Front would have been over and done. While subsequent decades rightfully give you pause at the idea of German occupation, the evidence of prior continental wars (such as the German victory over France in the 1870's) would suggest that a German victory in 1914, in all likelihood, would leave behind a Europe that looked an awful lot like the Europe of 1913. 

Instead, we have WWI, with ten million dead and nearly forty million wounded or missing. We have the inevitable sequel, in which 73 million died in the time between the invasion of China and VJ Day. We have the fall of the Czar and the rise of a barbaric political system that murdered millions and enslaved billions more across Europe and Asia. We have all the dead of proxy wars in Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. We have the collapse of political systems throughout Europe and the loss of their colonies, with all the internal warfare and famine that created. We have the Holocaust, which begat Israel, which in turn enflamed the Middle East and may well lead to the next world war. 

It's hard to imagine a German victory in 1914 spawning anything remotely resembling the horror that was the 20th century. 

So I ask you - is Leopold the hero of the First World War . . . or the grand villain of the 20th century?

You should be grateful King Leopold did delay the German march toward France, because without WWII, it's almost guaranteed Melissa would not have been born. 

Melissa's Grandpa K was 21 when he joined the Marines on Dec. 8th 1941 (day after Pearl Harbor) and didn't marry Mom until 1946 (1947?). I am not sure if they met before the war or after, but either way, things would have been different.

Had they not met before the war, given Dad was 21, he certainly would have found someone else in those 4-5 years. Thus no Dennis K (and me either) and no Melissa. If they did know each other before the war, they probably would have started a family 4-5 years sooner and Dennis would have graduated H.S. in 1960 instead of 1964. He would not have joined the Marines to fight in Viet Nam, cause there was no war at that time. He would have probably never met Jeanne and thus no Melissa. 

On a Macro level, no WWII, the US would not have built the Atomic bomb (Germany very well could have), and the US would not have been the first to land on the moon.

Butterfly effect is a nice way to exercise the mind though. - Lisa's Uncle Bruce K

Cal Worthington

Cal Worthington, a West Coast car dealer who was famous for his TV commercials - and far more importantly was used more than once as a question on The Match Game - has died at 92. RIP sir, Match Game fans thank you for your service.