From Our Table to Yours (or your nook, bar, over your sink...whatever)

Happy Cereal Day!

(yeah, it's a real day...commemorating the creation of Dr. Kellog's flakes in 1897)

(and, yeah, having a hard time coming up with things to blog)

Do You Believe in Love at First Sight?

Iron Man Exclusive Trailer

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Julie, Julie, Julie...how could you have doubted this casting for a second?

Leap Day

I remember back when I was in the State Indoctrination Centers as a kid, it was typical for them to do something special on that intercalated day in February. Classes, on the whole, were canceled in lieu of activities. Movie day (using actual projectors); I remember one year which was unseasonably warm our elementary school had a track meet kind of thing; or something along those lines.

I didn't make any plans for the day for our little academy--I got behind after being taken out with a kidney stone for a couple days last week, and am just too unorganize to have thought of it before this morning anyway. Honestly, I don't really have any ideas what we could do to commemorate the day--other than having the Princess propose to someone, I guess--and that'll only happen over my rotting corpse.

What kind of things are you and yours doing to mark this 'bonus' day?

radio.blog update

Indulging the addiction...think they're all self-explanatory...if you don't recognize one, leave a comment, and I or a fellow addict will be more than happy to help. If you recognize them all, you probably need help. (Please note that I obviously am in deep need of help)


I know, I know, left a few things off...Remy Zero's "Save Me;" "Moon Over Parma;" The Presidents "Clevland Rocks;" Nerf Herder's little ditty...and many others, but hey...I only have so much disk space on my server :)

Ahh, Justification for that Decades Old Thing Hanging in my Closet

(semi-h/t: the fine folks at girlfriday)

I just don't get Wes Anderson

I'll say this for Hollywood Video, they are really into movies. They want their employees thinking about movies all the time--during the interviews, orientation, etc. they kept making us think about movies--not just the new releases, but older films, genre films, and so on. The first Team Meeting I attended we got things rolling by having to name the last movie.

The answers were the typical...Merchant-Ivory flicks, Old Yeller-ish things and so on. I remember struggling to come up with something as it was coming up to my turn. Thankfully, I caught a cover over my manager's shoulders. "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou--just so much wasted talent and opportunity." Not only did I successfully answer the question without the stammering and "uh"s that the other guys made us suffer through before they admitted that Debra Winger die of cancer made them get weepy, but I also shot myself to the head of the Film Geek pack.

In all honesty, I don't really think I shed a tear over The Life Aquatic, but it would've been deserved. Rushmore was great. The Royal Tenenbaums was one of the best films I saw in 2001. But I just totally didn't get The Life Aquatic...I thought Wilson was fine, Blanchett was good (she's genetically incapable of being anything other than good...see Stewart's comments from the Oscars), as were sever other performances. But the whole thing just left me disappointed and annoyed.

That was then, just a fluke, I was sure. So, last night I grabbed The Darjeeling Limited. It, also, contained some good performances. And, to same something positive...I wasn't annoyed, or even that disappointed. In fact, I'm not sure I had any reaction at all. Wilson was good, Brody was good, Schwartzman was good. But, eh. Who cares? Certainly not me. Didn't enjoy it, didn't hate it. Just...nothing. Is it me? Is it Anderson? I don't like watching films and having no discernible reaction.

April 4 is how many days away?

too many...far too many....

Your Geology Lesson for the Day

from Peanuts.com

just another example of White Noise doing our part to educate the masses...

The First in Six Years

Yes, Laura, I have hair. Some. A bit.

Actually, got my first haircut in six years last week. Still not sure I like this better than the Mr. Clean/Dr. White/Caucasian-Avery Brooks look that I've sported May '02 (and off and on before), but this is far easier to maintain.

I am so smart! I am so smart! S-M-R-T! I mean, S-M-A-R-T!

TV Reviews

In Treatment

Anyone else watching this?

Tidying up...

Slipped a new profile picture of sorts up there and cleaned up the links over to the right.

Date Night

This past Saturday, the local rec center had their annual "Daddy/Daughter Date Night." Last year, I asked her several times to attend, but my Princess just wasn't interested. This year, however, once she saw the flyer for it about a month ago, she wouldn't shut up about it. At.All.

Being the observant guy that I am, I figured she wanted to go this year, so I reserved us a couple of spots. Very glad I did (pretty sure she is, too)

The place was crowded--I'm not sure how many I expected, but it wasn't half of who showed up. I think it was more than they expected, too, based on some of the things the DJ said. But the staff, while clearly over their heads, did yeoman's work, keeping things fun for the girls--dancing, snacks, corsages, a little make-your-own-necklace craft table, portraits, snacks, games and so on.

Oh! and the best face-painting that the Princess has ever been on the receiving end of. Can't forget that.

It was enjoyable just to watch the dad's dote on and goof around with their daughters. There were some girls who clearly would've been embarrassed as anything by their fathers if there had been any boys present; but in their absence of them, they were having a lot of fun.

Anyway, a good time was had by all, and as we left, she started making plans for next year. Including the need for us to practice dancing a bit more--she clearly felt uncomfortable on the dance floor. Sure, part of it was intimidation being in the presence of a modern-day Astaire, whether he's her father or not--and who can blame her? I'm looking forward to it.

On putting my money where my mouth is

(no pun intended)

I hope it was obvious that I was blowing off steam/joking around Tuesday. The news isn't quite as bad as it could've been--but it'd have been hard pressed to be worse than it is.

The trust I talked about yesterday isn't always easy...it's doable, but not without some effort--for me, at least, it's always harder when dollar figured get tossed around. But that's what friends/readers are for, right? Prayers and/or a minivan transmission would be appreciated.

Kids are from Mars, Dads are from Earth

Taglines on movie posters/marketing campaigns aren't always that helpful, but in the case of The Martian Child, the tagline's right on: "The story of a man becoming a father...and a boy becoming a son."

John Cusack stars as David Gordon, a widower and Sci-Fi novelist who decides to finish what he and his wife started two years prior to her death: adopt a child. He's matched up with a six year old who's convinced he's from Mars, sent to earth to study what it means to be human. Bobby Coleman plays the boy, and gives what's probably the best child-performance since Cole Sear saw dead people--he's been abandoned, emotionally abused, socially awkward, and totally unsure of himself.

Amanda Peet erases whatever karmic debt she owed the Hollywood pantheon for Studio 60 playing Gordon's wife's lifelong friend--likely Peet's most fully human character to date. Oliver Platt is effective as Gordon's agent (tho' underused, like he is in 97.8% of whatever he appears in), Richard Schiff delivers as the social worker in charge of the case, and Joan Cusack somehow pulls off portraying Gordon's older sister.

The plot is fairly obvious and predictable, but it's supposed to be. This isn't one of those stories that's supposed to sneak up on you and rattle your bars. A simple, straightforward and heartfelt plotline.

Not that this has anything to do with the movie, but coincidentally enough, during the climactic scene the pollen count the house reached astronomical levels--thankfully that count returned to normal while the credits scrolled by.

I should note that while this is a PG movie (yes, they do still make those, I'm as surprised as anyone), I'm not sure it's a movie for kids. Just don't think they'd get into it--which is okay. It's a movie for grown-ups.

This is possibly the sweetest movie I've seen in years--if not ever. Definitely worth the time and money (or spot on the rental queue)

A Lot Happier than I Expected to be a Year Ago

A year ago today when I posted "One of My Best Days," a friend pulled me aside (well, as close as you can come to doing that in the cyber world) and asked if I really thought that it was all that wise to wax romantic about my wife, given what was going on then. I told him that I really didn't care if it was all that wise, it was what was on my mind, so I wrote it.

I don't bring this up to belittle Chris or his remark*, I'm really thinking of what difference a little perspective makes. I'm pretty sure that if I asked him now what he thought of that post, he wouldn't have a single misgiving about it. Now, when I wrote that post, did I have a clue that I was a few days away from having my heart stop when I received divorce papers? Nope. And on either of those days, did I have the foggiest notion, that God, in his Providence was going to restore the marriage? Nope.

But, we all know that God knew it. He is on His throne, and we are not. From the perspective of us here on this ball of dirt, the tapestry is a giant, dismal, confusing mess. But from the perspective of eternity, the tapestry is beautiful, perfect--nothing out of place.

Which means that when the going gets rough (and, we shouldn't forget--when the going is smooth) we can trust in the care of the Master Weaver--it's all going according to plan. How the Arminian/Open Theist/"Don't Label Me Anything, But I Sure Ain't No Calvinist" can rest, I'll never know.

More immediately, this means: while it's slipped a little in the ratings, February 13, 1996 is still one of my best days, and my lobster and I are celebrating an even dozen years as an official couple today. Yahoo!

Soli Deo Gloria.


* One day if I remember to, I'll write up a list of the dumbest comments made to me during that time of trial. All were well meaning, but gracious! people really need to stop and think of what they're saying...

Mahna, Mahna Strikes Back

Here's One of Those Sentences that Make you Wince

Me, talking to my mechanic yesterday:

"What's the worst case scenario here gonna run me"

"Aww, you don't want me to answer that...Let's do some diagnostics first."

Don't want me to answer that? Ugh. Please pass the hemlock.

Finally was able to get a number out of him (but he insisted several times that it probably wouldn't be that)...a few hundred more than the purchase price.

Make that a double hemlock to go, please...

Help Wanted

a fellow homeschooler sent me a piece from Alpha Omega Publications' Homeschool View

Now accepting applications―

Family seeking fun-loving, godly homeschool teacher. Applicant will be responsible for providing total educational development and daily personal care for children of multiple ages. Applicant will assume the following roles: cook, housemaid, nurse, taxi driver, administrative assistant, accountant, athletic coach, social director, computer technician, household and automotive repairman, gardener, course instructor in multiple subject areas and grade levels, and various other responsibilities. This is a full-time position―approximately 120 hours or more per week.

Qualified candidates must be able to work well under pressure, multi-task, and prioritize work loads while maintaining a friendly, enthusiastic attitude. Quick thinking, good memory, and a varied background in extensive subject matter are a must. Promising candidates will be resourceful, adjust easily to distractions, and display creative, hard-working leadership abilities. Organizational and problem solving skills are a plus. Previous teaching experience and/or college preferred, but not required.

If you're interested in working in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment, this is the position for you! For more information on this exciting opportunity to earn fulfilling, one-of-a-kind rewards, please apply in person today.

If this was in the paper/on monster.com I wouldn't have thrown a résumé at it--there's no way on God's green Earth I fit these qualifications. And yet here I am.

What was I thinking?

Witty Repartee

I so have to remember this trick.

Q & A

Despite having been informed recently that I no longer hold Reformed convictions* (probably news to the Calvinistic Baptists I've been harassing lately as it was to me), we're plugging our way through the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

When Frodo and Samwise were younger, we used the First Catechism with them, and were pretty pleased with what they were able to do. But then a friend gave us a copy of Westminster's Shortest Catechism (partial answers of the WSC so that younger kids can get a start on it without all the verbiage--saves them from learning more than one catechism), and we tried that with the Princess until we lost it and went awhile without really any catechism at all.

That didn't last too long and a couple of years ago we started the older three on the WSC--we're making decent progress on memorizing and understanding it--have backtracked a couple of times to focus on this or that, etc. But Arnold's been left out of the memorization thing entirely (would try to ask him a few basic related questions, tho). But recently we've had him at least echo me phrase by phrase using the answers that the others are memorizing. And, naturally, he's actually memorizing things!

Granted, he's still having some troubles with pronouncing some words, so it comes out:

Jus-ication an act of od's free grace, wherein he pardoneh all our sins, and accept us as ri-eous in his sigh, on-y for ri-eousness o Chris impew to us, and ceive by faith alone![he picked up on my stress of that idea and shouts the last three words]

instead of

Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.

(and yes, Frodo, I typed that out from memory.)

Regardless of how he says it, it's a blessing to hear. Generally, his siblings will erupt in applause as he finishes his daily regimen of questions (while I appreciate the sentiment, and share it...the practice gets really old). Sure, he's got a long way to go before he really understands what he's saying beyond the phonetic level--and sometimes has a ways to go before he even gets that. But the neural pathways are being laid. The pattern is getting stuck in the recesses of his brain...and, by the grace of God, they'll stick there--and grow deeper and more permanent all the time.


* I haven't decided what kind of theology I now hold to...maybe I'll give the whole Emergent thing a try...get to drink coffee during services and cuss when I want.

The movie with a title so long, you'd think a Puritan wrote it

With an all-star cast depicting the last days of one of the more colorful figures in U.S. History, odds are, you're going to end up with a good movie. Andrew Dominik's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a textbook example that sure things aren't.

Or let me put it another way...if you've ever wondered how Young Guns II would've been if Kevin Costner had directed it...this is the film for you.

The actors did what they could with what they were given. Brad Pitt does a decent job, but is largely wasted. Mary-Louise Parker spends far too much of her limited screen-time as window-dressing. Sam Rockwell only gets to really stretch his legs for a few minutes, but, again, largely wasted. About the only actor who really gets to shine is James Carville (James Carville?). Casey Affleck, whose task it is to carry the film, tries but the weight is too much for someone of his stature. Try as they might, lemonade is out of the question--the best these pros can do with these lemons is make some ReaLemon.

The film is an interminable, meandering, would-be epic that looks gorgeous but in the end, just made me glad I got an extra 2 hour nap today.

Spiderwick?

Anyone out there read/had their kids read The Spiderwick Chronicles? Been wondering about them for awhile, the Library never has a copy in stock, and I just cannot bring myself to spend $11 on a book that measures 6.8" x 4.7" x 0.8" without a good idea if it's worth it (yet one more reason I won't buy a Bruce Wilkinson book, tho am pretty sure of the worth of those).

This is just sad...

Report: 1 in 4 Britons Think Winston Churchill Never Existed

One in four Britons don't believe wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill existed, according to a recent survey.

I'd laugh and laugh at this, but am willing to bet a similar number of Americans would say the same about FDR.

Churchill is compared to Florence Nightingale and Sir Walter Raleigh, seen by many survey respondents as a mythical person, the London Daily Mail reported Monday.

The survey, conducted with 3,000 respondents to test their general knowledge, reported other historical figures such as Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, Cleopatra and the Duke of Wellington were made up for books and films, the Mail reported.

Oh I've seen this on Leno. Who knew he could've gotten scholarly attention for this? (note: am sure this serious statistical analysis was exponentially more funny than Leno has ever been)

The survey, by UKTV Gold, also found that Sherlock Holmes was a real person.

A drug-addicted genius solving the impossible while abusing his good-natured doctor friend? 'Course they think he existed...they watch House, M. D.

Young Britons under 20 lack a basic historical education according to the survey results, historian Correlli Barnett told the Daily Mail.

I'll take 'Obvious Conclusions that Really Didn't Need an Expert to State' for $300, Alex.

"This suggests a complete lack of common sense and respect for our greatest heroes of the past," Barnett said.

Do I really want a wireless lifestyle?

Snow's coming down steady today, and it appears to be intermittently interfering with things

• Satellite TV...spotty (can't help but rejoice that I'm a baseball fan today of all days for TV signals to go wonky...LOL)
• Wireless Internet...very spotty
• Wireless phone...bad connections, dropped calls, static-filled convos

I got no strings to pull me down, but that also means that I could be easily set adrift.

Thought for the Lord's Day #15

How just is the apostle's observation, that no man can say Jesus Christ is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost! How astonishing the thought, --that the Maker of heaven and earth, the Holy One of Israel, before whose presence the earth shook, the heavens dropped, when he displayed a faint emblem of his majesty upon Sinai, should afterwards appear in the form of a servant, and hang upon a cross, the sport and scorn of wicked men! I cannot wonder that to the wise men of the world this appears absurd, unreasonable, and impossible; yet to right reason, to reason enlightened and sanctified, however amazing the proposition be, yet it appears true and necessary, upon a supposition, that a holy God is pleased to pardon sinners in a way suited to display the awful glories of His justice. The same arguments which prove the blood of bulls and goats insufficient to take away sin, will conclude against the utmost doings or sufferings of men or angels. The Redeemer of sinners must be mighty; he must have a personal dignity to stamp such a value upon his undertakings, as that thereby God may appear just, as well as merciful, in justifying the ungodly for his sake; and He must be all-sufficient to bless and almighty to protect ,those who come unto him for safety and life.

Such a one is our Shepherd. This is he of whom we, through grace, are enabled to say, we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. We are his by every tie and right; he made us, he redeemed us, he reclaimed us from the hand of our enemies, and we are his by our own voluntary surrender of ourselves; for though we once slighted, despised, and opposed him, he made us willing in the day of his power: he knocked at the door of our hearts; but we (at least I) barred and fastened it against him as much and as long as possible. But when he revealed his love, we could stand out no longer. Like sheep, we are weak, destitute, defenceless, prone to wander, unable to return, and always surrounded with wolves. But all is made up in the fulness, ability, wisdom, compassion, care, and faithfulness of our great Shepherd. He guides, protects, feeds, heals, and restores, and will be our guide and our God even until death. Then he will meet us, receive us, and present us unto himself, and we shall be near him, and like him, and with him for ever.

- John Newton

Please note the very definition of "Amazing Grace" by the hymnist himself:

We are his by every tie and right; he made us, he redeemed us, he reclaimed us from the hand of our enemies, and we are his by our own voluntary surrender of ourselves; for though we once slighted, despised, and opposed him, he made us willing in the day of his power: he knocked at the door of our hearts; but we (at least I) barred and fastened it against him as much and as long as possible. But when he revealed his love, we could stand out no longer.

Who Needs Obama/Clinton/Romney/McCain/Huckabee? Draft Abraham

Typically, I don't like it when a blog goes out of it's milieu--I read sports blogs to read about sports, political/news blogs for news/politics/reasons to kill myself, theology blogs to read about theology, writer blogs to read about publishing/process/promotion/influences/(okay, these guys typically get away wiht more before I get annoyed. But every now and then someone'll step off the reservation and it'll be worthwhile. Case in point:
Nice to see our priorities are in place

The nation is at war in Irag and Afganistan and families across the land are mourning their fallen sons and daughters. The economy is closing in on a recession. Our literacy rate is falling. Kids are abused, people are homeless and global warming could make Houston Street beachfront property in a few decades. Guns are readily available to criminals. The terrorists who planned the destruction of the World Trade Center remain at large. Gas is headed for $3.50 a gallon.

Yet Sen. Arlen Specter is concerned that the NFL destroyed videotapes of football games. And the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today had a old baseball player named Chuck Knoblauch come to Washington to ask him if he used steroids six years ago.

What’s next....

You gotta read the rest...

Thought for the Lord's Day #14

The Spirit of God shows us hidden things, the knowledge of which cannot reach our senses. . . . We are told of the resurrection of the blessed, but meantime we are involved in corruption; we are declared to be just, and sin dwells within us; we hear that we are blessed, but meantime we are overwhelmed by untold miseries; we are promised an abundance of good things, but we are often hungry and thirsty; God proclaims that He will come to us immediately, but seems to be deaf to our cries. What would happen to us if we did not rely on our hope, and if our minds did not emerge above the world out of the midst of darkness through the shining Word of God and by His Spirit? Faith is therefore rightly called the substance of things which are still the objects of hope and the evidence of things not seen.

- John Calvin

not sure how I got off-track on these, will try to do better...

Semi-Coherent Random Ramblings

Having one of those nights where consciousness wants to leave me faster than um, some witty metaphor about me back in high school and cheerleaders that I could write if I wasn't about to receive a restraining order from wakefulness. So am just going to type random thoughts into NoteTab during these wee small hours of the morning in an attempt to keep the brain churning.

Buckle up kids, this could be a bumpy ride.

I understand the WGA is fighting for what they think is important, fair, just, etc.--and I truly support them (which is gotta be the first time in my life that I've pulled for strikers). But I want this strike over! I want Chuck, HIMYM, Life, Battlestar, House, Bones, etc. back. The double-dose of Chuck Thursday (thank you NBC!) which I just finished watching (thank you NBC.com!) really just served to remind me how much I miss them. (that doesn't sound tooo pathetic, does it?)

Whoever first thought of wrapping milk chocolate with a thin candy coating is a genius, right up there with the inventor of the wheel.

Had my first exposure to Vista tonight. They bought a new computer for the office at work and asked me to set it up for them (wow! they actually read my résumé!!!). I don’t get the hate for it. Seems kinda nice. When I had my desktop repaired last spring, my computer guy told me he'd tell me to take my money elsewhere if I asked him to install Vista. Based on press/friend reviews, I assured him that wouldn't be an issue. But now, I don't know. Don't get me wrong, I'm not running out and buying a copy today (pretending I had the money) or anything, Dear :) It probably helps that this machine was designed for Vista, unlike most of the people I know who hate it on upgraded XP machines. Not sure I see any great advantage over XP, but then again, I haven't spent that much time on it.

Thomas Sangster is one impressive child actor. But his eyes are seriously creepifying.

Good friend wrote a very long soul-baring blogpost a week or so back. Don't see eye to eye with her on some of what she talked about, but I can see where she's coming from. Great example in how a church can fail...

Co-worker was watching Shattered Glass tonight. Saw something I couldn't believe...Hayden Christensen was acting! Don't get me wrong, he's not my generation's DeNiro, but he was actually acting pretty well. Figured after recently ripping on the guy, I should mention that.

I just find it hilarious that the Feds can't find Chuck Knoblauch to give him his subpeona to appear before that waste of taxpayer money committee on 'roids in baseball. Speaking of which, Stallone is saying he took HGH to get ready for Rambo. NO WAY!

Speaking of Yankee players, Phil Hughes started blogging recently--this probable future superstar is interacting with the fans in a very open way. Seems like a fun guy. Liked what I saw from him last year, have great hopes for this year. Now am pulling for him even more (didn't think that was possible), cuz I feel like I know the guy. Silly, I know.

Man, my handwriting (which is fairly nightmarish to begin with) is really, really nasty when I'm tired.

For those having a hard time surviving the strike...Alan Sepinwall's Strike Survival TV Club is a real help. Right now, he's going through Cupid--best work Paula Marshall's ever done and some of Jeremy Piven's best as well. Even Lisa Loeb!

I've held off on a couple of anti-Marvel/anti-One More Day rants over the last couple of weeks for some reason. Still might let loose with one before long, but, I should just take this opportunity to say I hate, HATE, HATE, HATE the moves that Joe Q and the rest of the Marvel Powers That Be are making lately. Nothing against them personally (well, am trying to keep it that way) but may they have very short tenures at their current jobs.

One of the best ways technology is helping my life is my cell phone. Why? I get to talk to TLomL on the way home from work each day. The conversation is rarely profound, rarely productive or even that informative..."Man, it's cold." "I'm so tired." "I've got so much to do today..." "Kids work up too early." That kind of thing. But I'll tell ya, that 20 minutes or so are some of my favorite each day.

Speaking of which, today when I get home, I'm going to do something I've done for maybe a grand total of 7 hours since Sept 06 when I gave up the whole land-line thing...I'm turning off my cell.

Time to go...

Am sorely tempted to give this a try...

from Wired.com:

Turn your waking day into a 22-hour party by getting your shut-eye polyphasically — in a few quick bursts. Studies by the Chronobiology Research Institute show that for those on round-the-clock schedules — sailors, astronauts, gamers — it's more effective to recharge in short stints. For survival, the brain will eventually adapt by entering the REM state much faster. The cumulative result: a higher percentage of the best kind of z's.

Can't help but think that they're absolutely right later on when they say that, "The first seven days of deprivation will be sheer misery."

H/T: Sheldon

Not quite up there with Shawn Spencer in the whole observation department

So we get the new Nampa Recreation Department catalog the other day, TLomL flips through it and passes it along, "nothing interesting in here." I start to thumb through it, catch this picture out of the corner of my eye, do a double take, then whack her on the shoulder with the rolled up catalog. "Nothing interesting, Mom?" I ask as I show her the picture with her #2 in the center. Oops.

But it goes downhill from there.

We later show the picture to Samwise, "Hey! I have that shirt!" Oy vey. "I would hope so, since it's you wearing it." "Hey! That's me!!"

A couple days later we show that to my mother, who admires the photo as any grandmother should adding, "And I recognize that pair of eyes behind him, don't I?" "Nah, Frodo's in another class this year." "Oh, really? I was sure...." Then this morning, as I'm scanning the picture, I take another look...those are Frodo's eyes (and, proof that only a parent would catch, Sam hasn't worn those pants to PE this year)--that's a picture from last year.

Heaven help us if we're ever called upon to identify someone in a police line up...

Of all the sexist, racist, ignorant things to say...

Been seeing this headline on my iGoogle page all day and I've finally had enough:

Apparently black women (at least those who'd vote in Democratic primaries, and what self-respecting black woman wouldn't, I guess...) cannot think in terms of issues or qualifications beyond skin color and gender. John Edwards must only have White Male Democrats voting for him. How do people think like this?

Racism is simply an ugly form of collectivism, the mindset that views humans only as members of groups and never as individuals. Racists believe that all individual who share superficial physical characteristics are alike; as collectivists, racists think only in terms of groups. By encouraging Americans to adopt a group mentality, the advocates of so-called "diversity" actually perpetuate racism. Their intense focus on race is inherently racist, because it views individuals only as members of racial groups.

- Rep. Ron Paul

(for those who are interested, you can click on the image to get to the CNN article, or if you want to read something of value, click on the name of the best GOP candidate running to read his article "What Really Divides Us?")

Just 'cuz I haven't done this in awhile

snapped this yesterday

Frodo took this while we were at it...I was supposed to be in this pic, but...ugh. No way am I showing anyone that thing...you can see my driver's license photo first.

Well, that explains a lot...

In memory of December 31, 1995...


Has it really been 12 years? Seems like yesterday...

You've Got Your "Ooo"; You've Got Your "Eee," You've Got Your "Ooo Ah Ah Ting Tang" and You've Got your "Walla Walla" and Your "Bing Bang"

Had this one about ready to go last Tuesday, and for some reason didn't finish it...I'm telling ya...over the last month or so my attention span has been akin to a hyperactive fruit fly's....

Went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks last weekend, and I'll be the first to tell you I had almost no interest at all in doing so--was practically antagonistic about it. I stopped short of antagonism because 1. it's a kid's movie fer cryin' out loud, not some Michael Moore or Oliver Stone dreck; 2. The TLomL and Offspring were bored out of their minds and this would serve to alleviate that for a while (I was pretty bored, too, but had a couple of unread novels on my library stack, so...); 3. I was trying to be a good sport things that didn't involve me sitting around sipping some sort of beverage and reading/watching TV. So with only a little expressed reluctance, I throw in the towel and go.

All the Offspring were excited about this movie--Arnold, in particular, was excited to go see "the 'real' Chipmunks" (as opposed to the cartoon snippets he'd seen on youtube). The rest of them kept singing "The Chipmunk Song" (a cute enough song in December...but in January?). This was going to be a long afternoon.

And then in the opening shot of the three computer generatedly furry critters doing a bucket brigade with nuts while singing "Bad Day", I look over at Arnold--literally sitting on the edge of his seat, his back as straight as possible, and eyes wide and filled with wonder. So much for my bad attitude.

Just as well that I dropped the attitude then, it was a cute flick. Not up to Enchanted or your typical Pixar level, but it was a good kid's movie. Was everything you could hope for in a Chipmunks film. Jason Lee was great as Dave--I couldn't help but think repeatedly that Lee was doing this film just like Chevy Chase would've in the mid-80's. Just something about the way he carried himself. (if Lee was mid-80's Chase, I think that makes David Cross Dan Akroyd).

Was the movie predictable? I should hope so--the target audience is in elementary school, fer cryin out loud. Were some of the jokes dumb? I should hope so--the target audience is in elementary school, fer cryin out loud. Was it fun? Was the music catchy? See above. Will I stop writing these questions?

BTW, if someone had just told be before I went to the movie that Justin Long was Alvin's voice--I would've gladly gone. Something about that guy...

Anyway, there is one big warning I have to give: you will get "Witch Doctor" stuck in your head. Period. No question about it. The movie's hip-hop-ish version has been stuck in my head since [note: in the week since I first wrote this post, that song has become unstuck, but it took time, a very long iTunes play list, and a lot of effort]. The the Classic Chipmunk version is infectious enough, but this new one is audio-MRSA.

Cackling at this Classic

Was trying to come up with something to put up here involving text, ideas, thought, etc. when I checked my email and got this video from a good friend...couldn't much else but crack up.

Are You Ready to Vote?

No, not talking about Ron Paul (or anyone else...). I'm talking about the voting that we Americans really care about--Tuesday vote counts that make Super Tuesday look like a High School Newspaper Opinion poll, I'm talking American Idol.

That's right--it's back tonight. I'll probably ignore, as per usual, most of the audition shows, I know that once we get to Hollywood week--I'll be there with my kids right after (during?) breakfast, putting my DVR to use every single episode. Especially in these WGA-Strike days, where I have nothing else to do...

Can this year top last? Yeah, hard not to...and the producers seem to know that. Hopefully their intended tweaks do the trick. As usual, Alan Sepinwall nails it in his column: How to polish a tarnished 'Idol'. Idol fans, or just those who like to think about how a TV show--nay, TV juggernaut--can improve itself, give it a read.

I knew something wasn't right lately...

It's snowing! We've got snow everywhere. Lots of it. According to the state's largest newspaper (which frequently gets things correct) 1/9 will be the first Snow Day for Government Schools in this part of the state since 1993. 1993? Really? That long? I knew our winters hadn't been up to snuff for awhile, but 15 years? That blows me away.

The way in to work tonight was a drag, to be honest--my co-worker, driving in her first real snow of her life was 30 minutes late. But, there's a part of me that really enjoyed it. Haven't spent too much time analyzing the why's and wherefore's of that enjoyment, but here's a few off-the-top-of-my-head thoughts:

1. TLoML hates driving in snow--even a little bit of it. So when it's time for her to go to work today, she'll call on me, her Man, for help. Not often I get to feel all Iron John-like. If you hear me doing my killer Tim Allen impression over the next few days, this is why.
2. I'm a native Idahoan. Which makes me a minority in most of the jobs I've held post-high school. Which, yeah, bothers me. I don't have a lot against those people who move to the state because of what it offers in way of nature, space, etc. (although too many of those types miss the irony of all the space, scenery and whatnot being destroyed to make room for them). What bothers me are the people who come here solely for the cheaper standard of living and complain non-stop about our infrastructure, government, politics, culture, welfare rules, weather, etc. etc. etc. I've worked with too many of those--particularly now. And I know they're all hating this weather--and all I have to say about that is, "HA. You moved here. This is Idaho." The person who will be relieving me at the end of my shift is a fantastic example of this. And I'm going to enjoy her misery more than I should.
[please note I never said anything about these things making me sound like a good person]
3. But most of all, is this feels right. This is what winter is supposed to feel, sound, and look like. It's supposed to be cold. It's supposed to be white. It's supposed to be wet. Lawns aren't supposed to be seen this time of year. And up until when I graduated UI (they still had snow days in northern Idaho after '93), that's what winter was about. But not lately. It's good to have it back.

Hasn't the Poor Man Suffered Enough?

Poor, poor William Gibson.

It apparently wasn't enough for Hollywood to take his groundbreaking short story, "Johnny Mnemonic," and turn it into 1995's Keanu Reeves' nightmare. Nope.

Today's SciFi Wire reports:

Hayden Christensen (Jumper) may star in a proposed film based on William Gibson's seminal cyberpunk novel Neuromancer.

Citing an anonymous source, the site reported that Christensen would play Case,the hacker at the center of the story.

Christensen--that automaton that made people think, "You know, that Jake Lloyd wasn't such a bad little actor..."--playing Case??!? It's just wrong.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

Next thing I'll be reading that Larry the Cable Guy has been cast as Ender Wiggin...

12 years ago...

According to my calculations, it was 12 years ago yesterday that TLomL and I had our first dinner out--our first anything more than just hanging out.

It was at a Chinese restaurant in Pullman, WA, right across from an entrance to WSU called The Lotus--home of the world's greatest General Tso's Chicken (which for some reason, they called General Tong's--maybe to stress the difference between their version and the wanna-be's), and tolerable everything else (from what I understand, I never had anything else but the General's Chicken). I remember the drive over being very awkward, the dinner enjoyable but awkward, the drive back being even more awkward, and then because neither one of us were sure what to do, but didn't want to end the evening...we went to a grocery store.

No, really.

This was something that an old roommate and I used to do--we'd wander around various grocery stores in the area hunting for the strangest products we could find and make jokes--sorta MST3K does Supermarket Sweep. Am not really sure why I suggested it that night--and am even less sure why she agreed. I guess I figured I'd wave my weirdo-flag high, and if she didn't bolt...

As I recall, that's where things finally clicked that night--we walked around that joint for about an hour or so, making random conversation--music, books, movies, friends, family--riffing on what we saw. The jokes weren't as funny as usual (no offense, dear, but you're no Zane)--and were probably fewer as well, but it didn't matter, best time I've had in a grocery store (now when we go to the grocery store, we're just trying to get out of there without wanting to throttle more than one kid). It wasn't until the next day (or the day after) that I found out she'd sprained her ankle that morning.

The rest, as they say, is history. Thanks, Rosauers.

One more cute kid story for today...

Trying to catch-up on my grading this morning and get this Q&A from Samwise's Bible worksheet:

In one or two sentences, tell what makes you most happy that you are one of the elect.*
answer: I might get to see people like George Muller, Isobel Kuhn, Billy Bray

He's not my brightest Bible scholar, but he's got the experimental part of it down pat.


*we'll just ignore the Dutch predisposition for presumptive election of covenant children for now, okay?

This is what happens when I turn my back for five minutes...

I leave the room to make some photocopies and come back to this:

As it is written, "He who pulls the sword from the sofa, shall be King of the Kids"

(well, loveseat...but didn't have the same ring)

yet another radio.blog change

this'll probably stay up for awhile. Just wanted to get something up that had nothing to do with that holiday, so I threw together a dream mix for Samwise. I am certain if I turned this playlist on repeat and left him in a room with it, he'd still be jammin' to it 24 hrs later (and likely beyond).

Exceptions That Prove the Rule

I've wanted to read Neil Gaiman's novels for quite some time now--really enjoyed the first edition of Don't Panic, but have never been able to get past page 30 of one of his novels. But I figured after the great experience I had with Stardust, I'd be able to plow my way through the novel. Honestly, not sure I needed the movie, I was hooked almost right away by the style--I'd probably just picked the wrong books before.

But anyway, I'm a shade under a third of the way through the book and already I'm pretty glad I watched the movie first, because I might've gotten pretty darn annoyed with the radical changes already made (although I must say that on the whole, they were necessary to get a well-made movie on the screen--this isn't a book that allows for an easy adaptation). Still, it's another case of the book being better than the movie.

Which got me to thinking...which books were worse than their movie adaptations? Surely there've been some. Off the top of my head I sorta think that Altman's M*A*S*H was superior to the novel by Hooker (if only for the fact that it cut out all the Trapper John as Jesus nonsense). Some movies are just about as good as the books/stories they were based on, some are hardly recognizable...that's practically a cliche to point out. But I know there are some movies that do a better job telling their story than the book did. Just can't think of any at the moment. Can you?

Here we have Idaho, Winning Her Way to Fame . . .

was just sent the list of The 25 Dumbest Quotes of 2007, and am proud to note that Idaho's senior senator shows up 3, count 'em 3, times. Between Mr. Wide Stance and our state police academy we'll be lucky to end 2008 without being the first state to be ejected from the Union....

(I should add that the 25 Funniest Political Quotes are quite chuckle-worthy)

The Absolute Worst Hair I've Ever Seen on a Televangelist

but the best one I've seen in content. ;)

Former mentor, and White Noise's first (and so far, only) guest blogger, Pastor Jason Wallace, has a new TV show. Here's episode 2.

Particularly appreciated the phone-in Q&A starting about halfway through...

A Very Gotham Christmas...and a Terrorized New Year?

I somehow stumbled onto ItsJustSomeRandomGuy's youtube videos some months ago, and he's been crackin me up ever since--I never thought I'd enjoy watching someone play with toys (well, of course, other than Wash or Steven Banks [about 4:30 into this clip])...it's enough to make me wish I'd starting filming my action figures than throwing them away.

Anyway, figured I had to post this:

And just as I was about to post this...I found this sure-to-be-a-classic video of Achmed the Dead Terrorist's Christmas caroling. If you want to see more of Achmed, click here. (both of these PG-13)

Seasonal Radio.Blog #3

Everyone has songs they just need to hear for it to be the holiday season...here's most of mine (the rest were on #1 and #2)

1. Winter Wonderland - John Jonethis Back on Turkey Day one of my aunts was talking about such and such Christmas album, how great it was because "it's not stylized". I was on my best behavior and didn't ask how you could have a style-free song, much less album. But I know what she means. Jonethis' Lounge Christmas CD is the closest thing we have in our library to a straight-forward "traditional" Christmas album. Only in our collection is a novelty record the most normal.


2. Tennessee Christmas - Aleixa from the CD Christmas in Heaven, TLomL got me addicted to this one


3. Come On Ring Those Bells- Phantasmic see above.


4. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town - Bruce Springsteen am not a huge fan of The Boss, and have no idea what possessed him to record this--but just gotta have it.


5. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas- John Jonethis


6. White Christmas- Robert Downey, Jr. and Vonda Shepard a perfect version of this Christmas classic (I'm not the only one who's asked this, but have yet to see a good answer--why are Jewish writers responsible for so much of the best Christmas music?)


7. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)- Darlene Love Not sure why, but this is my favorite Christmas song, but am sure Love's annual performance on Letterman is part of it. I was tempted to throw 4 versions of this song on to this playlist, but decided to go for the best.


8. Auld Lang Syne - BNL ...and we bring this series to a close :)

Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Great New Year.

Speaking of Music...

Ken Levine had a great post on Unchained Melody last week...you must listen to the second version he posts there. Turn those speakers up!

And Chowmein tells me via email that Dakota Motor Co. is putting out a new album! O frabjous day!

Raise your hopeful voice

Wow...am on a roll this week. Another one hit out of the ballpark! (tomorrow it's back to Law & Order: SVU episodes, so won't have one of these posts) This time was the indy modern musical, Once.

The musical for people who hate musicals. The primary characters are song-writers working on a project together, so the songs are natural part of the story--not a hey, let's get an elaborately choreographed performance at the post-graduation carnival, or during the storming of the Bastille. For Once, it's while writing a song...or practicing for a recording session. And, true to the singer-songwriter genre, the songs reflect their emotional life and move the story along.

This movie was made on the quick (17 days of filming) and on the cheap, in typical indie style. Which, of course, just helps the film. It's a pure, beautiful, moving film--clearly interested in telling it's story, not in making money or pleasing a studio. (both of which I'm pretty sure it's done now)

The performances are understated--the whole thing is understated. I think only 2 characters have names--neither of the leads do. The script was sparse, simple. The actors match that. The only time they really let go and give push themselves is during the songs (and even then, I think they could both let go a little more). Markéta Irglová is the sweetest thing on film this side of Serenity's Kaylee, and Glen Hansard is perfect as the sensitive yet awkward artist.

The music is great. The music would be worth sitting through a bunch of posing and pontificating, bad lines and miscast actors. Thankfully, John Carney, the writer/director didn't give us any of that. As I'm typing I'm just skipping through the DVD to find my favorite songs to listen to. The Offspring are going to get sick of this soundtrack once I get it. I can promise that.

Release Your Inner Warrick...

According to this week's Boise Weekly (not your everyday newspaper):

The Ada County coroner has launched a new Web site giving residents the chance to try their hands at CSI-style investigations. Each month, the site will be updated with a new photo from one of the department's past investigations. Along with the picture, coroner's staff provides details of the investigation and the ultimate outcome.
[...]
For those with less-queasy stomachs, the site will use photographs and X-rays to lead viewers through the investigation process.

For the would-be Nick Stokes out there, the first case is posted here.

Pretty Sure it Wouldn't Meet Code, but...

Clearly, when it comes to this household and Dec. 25th, I'm alone in distaste. This weekend, TLomL and the Offspring played confectionery construction workers and assembled their first Gingerbread House.

Well, I'm not exactly sure how much the Offspring did...I know a couple of them watched good portions of the process, and I think they all had candy in their hand at one point or another...but pretty sure the bulk of the work was done by one lone laborer:

In the end, after much blood, sweat and tears (or was that frosting, sugar, and gumdrops?) a decently-sound structure was standing

Not only did this provide some good quality time for mom and the kids, a (probably) tasty treat on the 35th...more importantly (to me) it provided some "let's give sick Daddy some peace and quiet." Oh yeah, and some opportunities for good discussions between TLomL and the Offspring on ethics, just punishments for rule violations, etc. (not all the cobblestones made it through the first night...)

Shiny!

I probably shouldn't write this right now...should put it off for a few hours so I can collect my thoughts and what not...oh well.

I just finished Stardust, based on the Neil Gaiman novel, starring Claire Daines, Charlie Cox, and Michelle Pfeiffer. I'm in awe. I'm astonished. I'm bewitched, bothered and bewildered. I'm. . . at a loss for words.

The movie opens with Ian McKellen's narration:

A philosopher once asked, "Are we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at them because we are human?" Pointless, really...”Do the stars gaze back?" Now that's a question.

To get the answer, we follow young shop-boy Tristan as he travels to find a fallen star so he can bring it back to his love, and win her heart. He, of course, is not the only one looking for the star--there's a group of witches who want it for its power, some princes who want it because obtaining it will also give them the stone they need to become king, and...ugh. If I'm not careful I'll end up retelling the story--pirates, magic, flying ships, magic spells, sword fights, ghosts, unicorns, adventure, romance...

It was simply magical. Movies were invented for experiences like this. I sat here smiling pretty much the whole 2 hrs and 7 minutes it was on. TLomL can attest to the rarity of that. It was fresh, original, and practically timeless... The only parallel I can think of to the experience was the first time I saw The Princess Bride.

I've never seen Cox before, but will keep an eye out for him in the future. I've been impressed by Daines every time I've seen her, but this goes beyond that. Pfeiffer was nearly pferfect as always. Great supporting appearances by Robert DeNiro (shock!), Peter O'Toole, Rupert Everett (he proves that old adage about "no small roles" here), Sarah Alexander, and Ricky Gervais.

Okay, I'm going to shut up now and hit the play button again.

As interesting as that philosopher's question was...there's a better question asked in the film:

What do stars do?

Trust me, you want to find out.

Chaos was what killed the dinosaurs, darling

Christian Slater near the height of his career, Winona Ryder before she took on "adult" (read: serious and dull) roles, a quick glimpse of Phill Lewis before he got stuck in The Tipton Hotel, Shannen Doherty right after she escaped the clutches of Wilford Brimley but before she falls into the hell of 90210. Biting commentary on: teenage suicide (and society's reaction to it); high school social life; clueless parents; clueless educators (of various stripes). Shoulder pads aplenty. What more could you ask for?

Just this--Someone delivering this line: "Whether to kill yourself or not is one of the most important decisions a teenager can make."

Throw all that together and you get Heathers. The best High School movie I've seen in years. (only high school movie I've seen in years, but that's beside the point). Don't ask me how this happened, but somehow I managed to make it through the last 18 years--an entire 1st-time voter's lifespan, mind you--without seeing the cult-classic, dark comedy. Took care of that last night, and am more than a little annoyed at myself for having put it off so long.

Seasonal Radio.Blog #2

We get a tad more serious with this one. Call it the "(Not the Crass Capitalist) Reason for the Season" mix

1. Joy to the World - O. C. Supertones Fun take on a good postmill hymn--which shouldn't get stuck in the seasonal category, either.


2. O Come All Ye Faithful - Flight 180 a spirited take on the classic


3. The First Noel- Leigh Nash our first dose of Nash this mix, second of the season...


4. Babe in the Straw - Derri Daughtery/Riki Michelle/Steve Hindalong from the ever-so underrated album Noel (which could be seen as City on a Hill: It's Christmastime: The Prequel)


5. Holy Emmanuel- Terry Scott Taylor from City on a Hill: It's Christmastime, Taylor can really sing when he's not goofing


6. O Holy Night- Leigh Nash and Michael Tait Nash + the best voice from DC Talk


7. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel - Chasing Fluries TLomL's favorite Carol (if I recall correctly)


8. What Child is This - Poor Old Lu This is one of my all-time favorite bands, and their style fits this one to a T


9. Angels We Have Heard on High - Carolyn Arends/Stephen Murray/Jenny Gullen another from Noel, possibly my favorite Carol


10. Joy to the World/For Unto Us a Child is Born - Amy Grant Ms. Grant provides a bookend of sorts along with a nod to Handel's "Easter" piece that for some reason is a Christmas favorite...

Update

So yesterday, TLomL checks this space and makes an exasperated noise while muttering something about nothing new. I defend myself, "Just haven't had anything interesting to say." She shoots me a look saying, "Never stopped you before." But she has enough tact to only say it with her eyes, not her mouth.

So while my young scholars are chomping at breakfast, I'll babble a bit, maybe saying something interesting along the way.

Watched Serenity for only the second time this week. Not sure how that happened without the world ending--if I'd guessed before the film was released, I'd have said that the 2nd time I saw it would've been within a week of the first. Quite wrong. Still a great film. I actually got a little choked up...can't think of another SF movie that made me do that...(wait, A. I. made me cry when I realized I was never going to have that two hours and twenty-six minutes back). Infinately quoteable, filled with well-rounded characters--not one or two well written people and a bunch of characters for them to react to, but an entire cast of them--F/X that serve the story (odd notion, that).

Am wearing a hole in my library card--something I haven't done since High School. Yet, if I were to think about it, I'd say that I have absolutely no time at all to read. I get most of it done a paragraph here and there while doing other things. Showing a great lack of discernment in genre, style, target age, topic, etc. Just reading any and everything that catches my eye. Have read some passable stuff, some great stuff, and some "eh" stuff because of that. But hey, it's something. I've been working on a couple of posts about some of the more notable things I've read lately, but haven't gotten around to finishing them...by year's end.

maybe.

I haven't mentioned www.ronpaul2008.com for awhile, so I'd better do that. Don't forget the Tea Party!

I've been wanting to talk about the off-season moves the Yanks have made, but haven't found the time...on the whole I'm pleased. As long as the Steinbrothers don't make that lousy three-for-Santanta trade they toyed with recently, I might even go so far as to say I'm happy about it.

One question: Weather.com told me this morning before I left work that it was 23, but felt like 11. Once you hit 23...does it matter if it feels colder? If it was 78 and felt like 62, I could see pointing it out. But at 23? It's all just numbers and being mind-numbingly freezing at that point...

Okay, my oatmeal bowl is almost empty and the clean-up crew is working on the table...that'll have to do for now.

We're 'bout to get tickets to a dream-world of magic.

Nariaweb has the first Prince Caspian trailer up!

The Chronic- What? -Cles of Narnia!

Yes the Chronic- What? -Cles of Narnia!

We love the Chronic- What? -Cles of Narnia!

Pass the Chronic- What? -Cles of Narnia!

When Al Gore Starts Pushing for 'Family Values'

Divorce is bad for the environment.

"A married household actually uses resources more efficiently than a divorced household," said Jianguo Liu, an ecologist at Michigan State University whose analysis of the environmental impact of divorce appears in this week's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

More households means more use of land, water and energy, three critical resources, Liu explained...

Be Green, Stay Married.

Recent Reads - Fiction

Okay, I realize my post last week on TV has probably got some of you thinking I've turned my brain completely off and become nothing but a tube watching vegetable. Never fear, am still literate. Here's a quick sample of things I've been reading, just haven't had the energy to write anything long on...

Boomsday by Christopher Buckley - I've read all but one or two of Buckley's novels, and it's fair to say he's my favorite satirist. In Boomsday, he takes on the impending failure of Social Security (particularly timely as the first Baby Boomer applied for SS benefits this past week). Political blogger and PR rep Cassandra Devine (a disciple of a disciple of Thank You for Smoking's Nick Naylor), has dedicated her off-hours life to the issue. After accidentally inciting riots at retirement homes/golf courses, she proposes a plan for older Americans to help out their children and grandchildren by choosing to "transition" from this life to the next. In return for this, transitioners would receive large tax benefits. Throw this idea into a presidential campaign featuring a rich fire-brand, an incumbent overseeing too many foreign wars and a horrible economy, a prolife evangelist (who may or may not have killed his mother) and hilarity ensues.

Buckley's novels tend to run away from him--he generally loses control (think those rickety coal carts at the end of Temple of Doom) towards the end. His last few novels have shown a lot of improvement in this area--and I think this is his best ending yet. Best novel he's written--but the characters and satire aren't his best (but they're nothing to complain about, either). Give this one a B+/A-

The Deader the Better by G. M. Ford - The latest (last?) installment in the Leo Waterman series, is definately the darkest. About half-way through this novel Leo stops going about this the way he normally does and instead assembles a team of criminals to start a major sting/blackmail operation. It bugged me while reading it, and by the time it was over, it bugged me a lot. I can't really put my finger on it, but it didn't feel like Leo, more like one of Spenser's weaker escapades. The romantic subplot really worked for me, as did the b-plot with the runaway, but the A-plot...eh. I really hope that Ford gets back to this series so I can see how he's going to take things with Leo's love life--part of me is glad to see him risking the status quo; but the other part of me really likes Rebecca as a character, and I'd rather see more of her than less. But mostly I want to see if Ford continues to take this series in the darker direction this novel heads down (and his newer series seems to take), or if he lets Leo return to being Leo. Personally, I hope he takes the latter route--I miss the fun Elvis Cole (not that I totally mind the darker Elvis), don't want to lose the fun Leo, too.

Falling Man by Don DeLillo - I really wanted to like this book--DeLillo's one of my favorites. But this thing? Blah. This is DeLillo's take on 9/11 and the aftermath. The scenes about the protagonist leaving the scene of the WTC attacks, and those showing how his son and his friends are reacing to the attacks--those are really well done. And there were sentences, or paragraphs, that were great to read. But on the whole, this was a dreary novel, about dreary people reacting to horror in a dreary way. Worst thing I've read by him--which is strange, as many critics hail it as one of his best--who knows, maybe bluewoad's rubbing off on me.

How to Talk to a Widower by Jonathan Tropper - Tropper delivers yet another fun novel about a young man dealing with death (and how often can you say that?). This time, Tropper's protag married an older woman with a teenage son. A plane crash cuts short their life together and now the widower has to put his life without her together. Of course, the teenage son is a complication that he's not ready for. Tropper's characters frequently have a strong woman character as friend/love interest (no matter how taboo). This time a twin sister takes care of the friend part of the equation--and is one of the more interesting characters he's created. The quirky disfunctional family is along for the ride--the father, of course, being the most screwed up (not that mom is that together). Tropper doesn't miss a beat, hit a wrong note, or flub the rhythm once in this book. Charming, funny, bleak, and hopeful. Probabably his best work to date.

Leepike Ridge by N. D. Wilson - Wilson proves that you don't have to be named J. K. Rowling to write children's fiction that's worth reading if you're over 13. Good, imaginative, adventure story. Wilson's got a natural (genetic?) way with words, that he's honed well--would likely be a pleasure to read even if the plot and characters were weak.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - This one's a "Young Adult" novel, which again, puts me out of the target audience. Ooops. Actually, I think the target is teenage girls, so I'm really out of the target. Really don't care. Meyer can tell a story. Even if the story is an implausible love story about a loner teen girl and a vampire whose Byronic personality is on loan from a Bronte novel. Probably one of the better vampire novels I've read (and I seem to be reading a lot of them lately for no apparent reason).

by George by xxx - Wilson proves that you don't have to be named J. K. Rowling to write children's fiction that's worth reading if you're over 13. Good, imaginative, adventure story. Wilson's got a natural (genetic?) way with words, that he's honed well--would likely be a pleasure to read even if the plot and characters were weak.

The Devil You Know by xxx - This one's a "Young Adult" novel, which again, puts me out of the target audience. Ooops. Actually, I think the target is teenage girls, so I'm really out of the target. Really don't care. Meyer can tell a story. Even if the story is an implausible love story about a loner teen girl and a vampire whose Byronic personality is on loan from a Bronte novel. Probably one of the better vampire novels I've read (and I seem to be reading a lot of them lately for no apparent reason).

Hood by Stephen Lawhead - Wilson proves that you don't have to be named J. K. Rowling to write children's fiction that's worth reading if you're over 13. Good, imaginative, adventure story. Wilson's got a natural (genetic?) way with words, that he's honed well--would likely be a pleasure to read even if the plot and characters were weak.

1st to Die by xxx - This one's a "Young Adult" novel, which again, puts me out of the target audience. Ooops. Actually, I think the target is teenage girls, so I'm really out of the target. Really don't care. Meyer can tell a story. Even if the story is an implausible love story about a loner teen girl and a vampire whose Byronic personality is on loan from a Bronte novel. Probably one of the better vampire novels I've read (and I seem to be reading a lot of them lately for no apparent reason).

Common Sense

Am delighted to note that while I was watching this for the first time, the Princess comes up (before his name's on the screen), points and asks "Is that Ron Paul?"

A Confession/Radio.Blog Returns!

Finally got ye olde radio.blog back up. But somewhere along the way, I lost the tweaks I'd made to make it look nicer. Will be playing with that when I have a spare second here and there. (by the way, do yourself a favor, and click the box next to "Crossfader" to turn that off...you wanna catch the end of some of these tracks)

Oh well, this is the first of my Christmas music radio.blog's that I've planned for this Dec. What? Christmas? Yeah, Christmas music.

Those who know my aversion to this particular cultural event might be a bit surprised that I'd post something like this. In fact, some might think I've sold out/changed/been brainwashed. But no...I'm still not crazy about the way this man-made holy day has trumped the 52 we've been given and ought to celebrate correctly before we get around to making any of our own. But I've always maintained that it's a matter of liberty when it comes to individual celebration (still think it ought to be verboten on the ecclesiastical level, but that's another story) of the day, and I choose to exercise my liberty in a way that causes minimal strife on the homefront every December.

Even if we did nothing with decorations, gifts, treats, days off and whatnot around here, (and who knows, one day TLomL might go for that--probably after Arnold's out of the house) we'd probably still listen to the music. Something about it, I just love Christmas music. "Traditional" carols/songs, new ones, new takes on traditional songs, pretty much all of it.

By the way, a great new Christmas album--A Very Mylo Christmas--has just been released and you can listen to demos, purchase CDs and downloads over at www.farmboymusic.com. (that's www.farmboymusic.com: your source for the best farm-based humor on the Internet) This album also features some very nice Christmas music by Clyde & Janet Bauman in addition to the funny stuff from Mylo.

This list is the least serious of the bunch, and some of the favorites of both myself and the Offspring.

1. Jingle Bells - BNL When this track is played, it's officially Christmas season in the Newton household. The Offspring go nuts.


2. Merry Christmas, I Don't Want to Fight Tonight - The Huntingtons a cover of that Tradional Old English Carole made famous by Joey Ramone.


3. You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch - Sixpence None the Richer Is there any song that Leigh Nash and the crew can't make sound better? Nope.


4. You Gotta Get Up - Five Iron Frenzy not quite as sappy as the Mullins original, but captures the feel


5. Elf's Lament - BNL Okay, time to get political. Who takes the time to consider the plight of the North Pole Laborers?


6. Santa Claus - Harry Connick, Jr. Toe-tapping goodness. We generally have to listen to this one 2 or 3 times when it comes up on iTunes here.


7. Christmas Day - MxPx Because nothings better than melodic punk to celebrate the day. (this one might actually have the best 'message' on this list)


8. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - Jane Krakowski Had to be done.


9. Jingle Bells - Diana Krall Whoops. Repeat of the first track. Ah well. This one's for those who don't appreciate the Batman-Smells verse


10. Winter Wonderland - Steve Taylor Not the best version of this song in my library, but hey, it's Steve Taylor.


11. The Chipmunk Song - The Lost Dogs No comment needed.


12. Christmas at Ground Zero - Weird Al The Cold War Classic. First non-traditional Christmas song I got to know. You can blame this entire playlist on this one track.
    

It was an interesting day....

Thanks to the lovely winter weather I recently whined about, the Interstate was a parking lot, so I took some back roads in (and not the back roads I'd have picked if I'd planned on it), making us 10 minutes late from the get-go. Not an entirely auspicious way to begin.

First thing when we get there is that we find out that instead of sending me the prescription for the Valium, they went ahead and filled it for us, so he got a little something to take the edge off. But that's not all, they have this cream (don't remember the name, don't care enough to look it up) they put on his arms to numb them. Basically just trying to make sure that he doesn't start the day cranky, annoyed or in pain (or all of the above). Then we get to wait for an hour while these things kick in. Thankfully, the hospital that we're doing this in has a great Children's Specialty center--and by great, I mean they have a large and well-stocked play area.

We then saunter over to the pediatric unit of the hospital--by this time the Valium's working and Arnold's a little buzzed, nothing major, but definitely in a good place. They're using the pediatric unit to insert the IV's for a couple of reasons: 1. the nurse in charge of the study is squeamish about poking kids, especially when there are pros available, and 2. they don't want the subject angry at the people he's spending all day with. (they're very concerned with the subject's state of mind--which is fine with me, considering the subject in question). Like I said before, Arnold's a pro at this stuff, but they bring in a legion of people to do insert the IVs. At one point (in addition to the three of us) there was his nephrologist, the nurse in charge of the study, two RNs, two other nurses, and a "Child Life Specialist" (whatever that is, but apparently you have to have mad bubble blowing skillz) in the room to make sure everything went smoothly. I almost volunteered us to leave the room to alleviate overcrowding. He got through that okay, one quick "ow" per IV, and then we went back to the center.

We know Arnold's small, but every now and then we get a healthy reminder of it. On the pediatric unit, all the nurses guessed that he was "about 2." When people who spend all day dealing with kids are off on that by 16 months, you know he's short for his age.
They fed some contrast dye into one arm, and then removed that IV. Then they took blood samples at 10 min., 30 min., 1.5 hrs and then 5 hrs. to see how the kidneys filtered it out. Then, like I said before, there were typical physical stuff. The early blood work results were good--hormones, sodium, etc. are stable, height, weight, etc are okay--but we won't have any results from the major tests for about a month.

The highlight of the day was, of course, watching Arnold go through this all. He was a little out of it, yet mostly there thanks to the Valium. But watched everything that happened to him, paying very close attention to every step of the process with the IV insertions--despite the best efforts of the woman blowing bubbles. He quickly picked up the procedure during the blood draws, and started talking the nurse through the steps. He was very chatty, particularly after the Valium wore off. Kept talking about "the red bloods" coming out of his arm, and going from the syringe to tube. He really seemed to have a good time. By the end of the day, all three of us were pretty drained, but his spirits kept up. But he was still plenty ready to get that last IV out, and be able to put both arms in his jacket (next year we'll take Frodo's for him).

Incidentally, the nurse was telling us about some conversations she's had with other centers for this study--not everyone does the IV thing ("for the kids' sake"), instead they just poke their subjects each time. How does that make sense? What kids want that? What kid's veins are up to it?

Then 7+ hours after we fought our way to the hospital, we got to fight our way home, in time for me to collapse for a few before work. Thankfully the next appointment should only take 3 hours--with no IVs involved. It'll be focusing on psychology, development and whatnot.

Representative Shot

Was going through some photos from today and came across the shots I took from Samwise's birthday...pretty much every one had an expression like this.

The Whys and Wherefores

Why I blog.

This has the makings of an interesting day

So Arnold has a big day today. He's going to be part of a nationwide study on pediatric kidney problems. His involvement will take part over the course of four years, starting in abouuuut four hours.

Today's festivities kick off with him getting an IV put in his hand--they were supposed to give us a prescription for some Valium to help him deal with that, but that didn't happen. He's had about as many needles stuck into him at this point in his life as I have, and generally does okay, so it shouldn't be too bad--but I'd feel better if he was relaxed. Anyway, that IV will be used to get 4 or 5 blood samples over the course of the day. He'll also have a decent physical, his regular nephrology checkup, and some other things. Once all the results are in, we'll have a much better idea of how he's going than we've had since...well, ever.

In a couple of months there'll be some psychological tests (that should be fun), and an annual repeat of today, along with other assorted fun times along with way.

But that's then. Before us today is trying to come up with ways to fill the time between blood draws and exams w/o TLomL, myself or Arnold doing violence against each other. Thankfully, the Princess, Frodo and Samwise are spending the day with some friends, or I know there'd be bloodshed. :)

One part Little Mermaid, One part Roger Rabbit, One part...

...yeah, okay, couldn't think of anything to finish that with. (shrugh) Whatcha gonna do?

We celebrated Samwise's 8th birthday over the weekend (8th!?!?!?!), and somewhere in between piecing together Bionicle warriors, Sponge-Bob Lego sets, and playing with remote control tarantulas, we managed to squeak in a movie, namely, Disney's Enchanted.

Say what you will, I liked it. Really.

A lot of books, movies and whatnot lately have been playing with or on the conventional fairy tale--Shrek, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Hoodwinked, to name a few. But where some do it out of a spirit of deconstruction, or mocking, postmodern detachment, and whatnot, Enchated does out of a spirit of fun. Yeah, it makes jokes about some of the fairy tale/animated fairy tale movie cliches, but it does so with love, not a sense of superiority.

This movie combines animation and live action, fairy tale world and the "real" world, a clash of cultures, a firm belief in happily-ever-after and skepticism about happiness in general. The musical numbers are just a blast (I've gotta get this soundtrack).

Marsden plays the good-hearted dullard that most Disney princes are perfectly. I haven't liked Dempsey this much since Can't Buy Me Love. Adams is...spectacular--she is a Disney heroine brought to life. I loved the cameos by past Disney voices (took me WAY too long to recognize Jodi Benson, and after all the Mermaid special features that Frodo's made me watch). Sarandon and Peter Pettigrew Spall are the perfect Disney foes.

I honestly can't think of a certain false note. Yeah, it's not going to walk away with Best Picture--but it's good wholesome fun that'll leave you smiling.

"Yippee ki yay . . ."

For those who found the unrelenting realism of John McClane's exploits to thwart Hans Gruber's escapades in the Nakatomi building too much to handle, never fear, the fourth installment of the Die Hard franchise gives the occasional nod to reality, but doesn't let it interfere with telling its story.

As usual, McClane's personal life is in shambles--this time the focus isn't on the disintegrating/disintegrated marriage with Holly, but on the strained relationship with his daughter. I really liked the interaction between McClane and the girl--I thought her change in attitude was a bit on the quick side, but eh...trama does things to people. Serves as a decent B Story.

The A Story is what it should be--some terrorist-y types wreak havoc, in this case it's a group of hackers bringing the entire country to its knees. But, since this is a Die Hard film, it's not really about the terrorism. McClane is brought into all this by chance, having to pick up a hacker for questioning about the early stages of the terror. This hacker is played by the always reliable Justin Long--who gets some of the best lines of the flick.

Have to mention Kevin Smith's two scenes--Smith plays an ubernerd/uberhacker living in his mother's basement (which he insists on calling his "command center"). Smith got great reviews for the role, but I'm not sure why. He was decent, but I know he can do better--and given the character, I expected a bit more from him. But at the end of the day, he's still Kevin Smith, and I can't help but grin when he's on screen.

Good action film, some great stunt sequences (could've lived w/o the jumping on to the jet myself), some good laughs. Well worth the time if you like the genre. Pretty sure this is the only one of the 4 in the series that TLomL has watched in its entirety with me, so that's saying something...

A matter of Perspective

Although my kids keep pointing out that Dec. 21 is weeks away, Winter has definately set in around here. This morning I noticed something odd...when it's 7 a.m. and the end of your shift, and you have to think warm thoughts while scraping your window in 19 degree weather and hope that your heater will actually do something about the environment in your van before you make it all the way home... It's cold, painfully cold.

But it's a whollllle new kind of cold when it's 7 a.m. and you just rolled out of bed and you're remember nice, warm thoughts while taking out the trash and scraping your window in 19 degree weather and knowing that the heater isn't going to do anything to help things out as you take your wife to work.

This morning I was really tempted to chuck it all, buy an RV and tour the country while homeschooling the kids like Lisa Whelchel, so I could be in Arizona or New Mexico right now.

But then I remembered that neither TLomL or I starred in a silly 80's sitcom, and will probably never be able to afford to buy an RV and tour the country (much less do so while we are feeding, clothing, and educating kids).

Ah well...chalk it up to my blood being too cold to properly navigate its way through my vessels and get the brain working.

Chuck Norris Humor

Like many of you (I assume), I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this Mike Huckabee/Chuck Norris ad that swept the airwaves/InterWeb this week (this anti-federalist goofball is the evangelical answer to Romney?)--I was sure inspired to find more money to give to Dr. Paul.

Thankfully, the good people over at the webcomic Sheldon, posted an old Chuck Norris-related strip that it was easy to choose the proper reaction--laugh out loud, and then re-read and laugh some more.

Someone had Fun with Photoshop

Eat your heart out Doug Ross, M.D..