The Age of Adaline

It was a good movie. It became a *damn* good movie once Harrison Ford showed up. If you think his acting chops are lacking, check out his first scene with Blake Lively. My God, the man can act! Lisa is bawling :)

The narration was,cheesy n unnecessary. A- with narration, had potential to be A+. - Lisa

A Productive Day

I announced to the family that this would be a day of rest, but I guess it just isn't in us. I watched a quarter of the Packers game, then got twitchy and replaced the fixture in Smiley's closet. That alone was a lot for me, as I suck at home repair, but then I went and cut the lawn, which is a big task with that POS mower. Just when I was literally thinking, "F this. I'm buying a mower tomorrow," the dang thing finally started. Meanwhile, Lisa and Smiley tackled painting Junie's room, completing it just before bedtime. A productive day for Team Slap.

We're repainting room by room because many rooms haven't been repainted since we moved in 8 yrs ago. It's a 120 yr old house, always something to fix, lol. - Lisa

Goofball

What a goofy way to sit. 

Moses Malone

RIP NBA great Moses Malone, age 60.

You Thought WHAT?

I was watching football today when Junie asked why I bother, since it's not my favorite sport. I told her it was because I'm in fantasy football, which led to an explanation of that pastime. 

"Have you ever won?" she asked. 

"No," I said. "But I've finished last three times. That's why I had that trophy a couple years ago."

"The one with the toilet seat and the poop glued on?"

"Yes."

"Oh!" she said. "I thought you got that from law school."

New Buttons

The new additions to my collection

BVCC Food Pantry Charity Walk

#TeamSlap just finished the annual 2.6 mile charity walk to benefit the Bay View Community Center Food Pantry. I almost overslept, if not for the intervention of Pam and Tre; suspiciously, my kids did not alert me to the time. Oh well, I'm sure it was a mistake and not because they wanted to skip it :). Afterwards. as always, BVCC treated everyone to ice cream.

I Foolishly Join a Bowling League

Last night, at the invitation of Alex Q, Lisa  and I joined a bowling league. I warned him I sucked, and I lived up the billing, bowling a high of 79. I must admit to getting salty, as I despise not being good at something, but I had a good time aside from, you know, the actual bowling lol. I'm reasonably sure, even as he reads this, that  he's kicking himself for the invite, but I'm game and thankful for the time with friends. I *will* improve - in a month or so, I aim to break 80. ;)

A New (to me) car

A friend of mine, Thomas Gr, read my transportation complaints last week and sold me his 2001 Ford Taurus, then en route to the junkyard. I put it in the shop for repairs and got it back Friday That's why Lu and I went to the DMV, to title my new ride. Even with the repairs, which will resume Monday when the shop reopens, it was well worth the cost, and the presence of a second vehicle has already been a blessing, both to our needs and my ego. Thanks Thomas and Kelly G for thinking of us!

Visiting the Humane Society

Never Forget

9/11 has been honored by nearly everyone I've run into today, even at the DMV, and on every radio station I've heard. #ProudOfMyCountrymen

Custard

Custard the cat

Gravity Falls

For a long time I thought this show was stupid, but I've come to realize it's well written and actually pretty witty.

One of those Moments

A text between me and LuLu on Tuesday

Free Tuition at MATC

I applaud the MATC program granting free tuition to low income students. Kudos for including an attendance requirement, but jeers for setting the minimum high school GPA at 2.0. If you can't average better than a "C" in high school, then you don't deserve a free ride to college. Unless you're really good at a revenue-generating sport. Then I see your value to the school and I'm cool with it.

It's more than just a technical college now. Either way I'm not asking for the world, just a 2.5 GPA. You can't pull off a B in gym or shop once a year? Please. Statements for the minimum GPA reveals the soft bigotry of low expectations - frankly, I think it was set so low bc they think it'll bring in more minorities, which is a paternalistic and bigoted assumption.

My Day

Pretty worthless day. My contractor didn't show to replace the gutters, the light in the kitchen continues to defy me, Lauren's snow globe from our Disney trip broke, I wasted two hours at the Humane Society only to have the dog I wanted adopted by the guy in front of me in the queue, and in order to rescue Simon (the neighborhood cat) from trafic it was either drop my pizza slice or leave him in the road - so I split the difference and shoved the slice in my pocket, and helped the cat but ruined my shorts. . . . which, now that I read that, was a really stupid fat guy thing to do.

Weird Things Happen to You

True Story: Monday evening I was walking through Walmart with Smiley. As we passed an aisle in the craft section an attractive, 25-ish young  woman jumped out and stuck out her middle finger at me with considerable glee. She then immediately gasped, brought her hands to her face, and turned red as she realized I wasn't her intended target. My deadpan response?

"Maybe later, but we haven't even been introduced yet."

Smiley couldn't stop  laughing and shook his head. Just a few hours earlier we'd been approached by a guy in Home Depot's parking lot and I bought his store credit for half price. 

"Weird things happen to you Dad," he said.

YaYa's 1st Swim Meet!!

YaYa had her first high school swim meet tonight and finished third! Way to go kid! I'm sorry I couldn't attend. I'm proud of you!!!!

Is this the first thing that you missed in your kids' lives? I wouldn't be surprised! You're a good dad. - Sandee

80 Years Ago Today

80 years ago today LA Governor Huey Long was struck down by an assassin. He would die two days later, on the 10th.

Area 51

Movie night with YaYa  - Back to the Future 3,  Mr. Jones, and now this :)

Henry Ford

And of course, most of those things, and more, are now guaranteed by law

Ford did do all the above. Did unions need to fight for the same guarantees elsewhere? Sure. But the first place to get 'er done got it done through good ol' capitalism. And again, laws guarantee most of the above now, which is why unions are seen as redundant by many.

 $5 an hour was such a huge wage that people flocked to Detroit like a 20th century gold rush. The equivalent today is *$66.51* an hour. http://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/dollars.php

update  I'm sorry, the meme IS wrong. He raised the wage to $5 in *1914*, not 1926 as on the picture. The equivalent, with inflation, was $117.40 an hour.

Happy Birthday Buddy

Buddy Holly would have been 79 years old today. That's what makes Feb 3rd a true tragedy - that all this time later, he could have still been alive and making music. I have no hate for that pilot, but he robbed us all.

Lebanon

If you dismiss my last post as folly, consider recent history in the Mideast: once upon a time, after WWII, Lebanon, a peaceful nation with a significant Christian population and culture, opened its gates to refugees from Palestine. Within a decade Eisenhower, in his only foreign military action, had to send in US Marines to evacuate civilians. Within three decades the country was embroiled in the bloody civil war that dominated the news of my youth. The Lebanon of 1950 no longer exists.

Sigh

This is not a good Daddy day. I'm trying but . .  . emphasis on "but."

History

100 years ago today, a year into WWI, the first tank rolled off the assembly line.