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My stomach will be strong

Minor updates

- Somebody got engaged. You know who you are. I have no good response. Or I should say I have no response worthy of filling our hearts any further.

- Cars was OK, but not up to Pixar’s standards. It dragged mercilessly in the middle (the entire middle section was about paving a road...whoever made that decision should never be let back onto Pixar’s lot) and was only just barely saved by the heartfelt and cornball tow truck. Still, it was better than 90% of the cartoon movies out there. After the Incredibles, I sort of expect perfection.

- Per LonAnne, William was pondering how many beers he would drink when he became a grown-up. He decided on one per day and asked if it was bad for you to drink one beer a day. LonAnne said "No." Thomas looked up, shocked, and exclaimed, "A beer a day??? You’d be drunk in a month!"

- The Walkmen CD is not-so-much as it could be either. This after a disappointing string of album choices on my part and a mediocre Nine Inch Nails concert. I’m sick of nearly all my music and falling back on country. One of the best albums I’ve heard so far this summer is Dale Watson’s Whiskey or God. The best show I’ve seen is Haybale at Riley’s tavern. LonAnne and I two-stepped to The Byrds Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Now there’s an album.

- We’re off to Puerto Vallarta for the next week.

Have fun with all this.

(Incidentally, this will be my sign-off should I ever shutdown.)


- 6/17/2006 9:14:53 AM | link


Chick wit

"The entire country may disagree with me, but I don’t understand the necessity for patriotism," Maines resumes, through gritted teeth. "Why do you have to be a patriot? About what? This land is our land? Why? You can like where you live and like your life, but as for loving the whole country… I don’t see why people care about patriotism."

I really can’t figure out if she’s stupid or high. Either way, there’s likely going to be another round of CD burnings. Which is good for business.


- 6/17/2006 8:42:15 AM | link


Wayne Dwade

In honor of the NBA Finals (and perhaps the World Cup, what with its viewership of roughly 1/12 of white American programmers), Malcolm Gladwell (yes, yes, he is growing on me) dissects the not-so-sweet science.

Things I like about the NBA Finals which have little to do with Win Scores...

- The irresistable need for the announcers to mention Dirk Nowitzki’s love of David Hassellhoff.

- Panning to Shaq every 15 seconds during the second half in Game 2. What’s he doing? Oh, he’s still on the bench. Cutting to Shaq for reaction shots is like cutting to Al Gore during a Clinton press briefing.

- Pat Riley and his silly card that he keeps pulling out.

- Avery Johnson’s jaw. He looks like the fifth Ninja Turtle with the power to break your face in half by staring you down.

- The NBA’s desperate need for a star. Dwayne Wade is next year’s Ivan Allerson. Oops, I meant Allen Iverson (see Malcolm Gladwell). He can rebound, he can shoot, he’s a playmaker! Except when he’s missing successive lay-ups.

- Jimmy Kimmel’s stand-up pieces. David Hassellhoff references? Check. Shaq free-throw misses? Check.

- Shaq free-throw misses. He’s two for two in Game 3 and you would think Jordan had come out of retirement to dunk the ball during an exhibition match.

- People scoring. Compare this to watching the Australia-Japan World Cup game while working out in the morning. It set an exciting pace of 2-1 by the end of the first half. I think one of the Japanese players actually got hurt, which was talked about for the twenty opening minutes of the second half.


- 6/13/2006 9:04:34 PM | link


Break my arms around our love

Daughters of the Soho Riots by The National.

In case you were wondering.

And then, my son gets chickenpox and poison oak and the other gets blood somewhere he shouldn’t. My long lost aunt calls to tell me my uncle died eight years ago. They wanted to tell me, but they couldn’t find me or my dad. I told her I couldn’t find my dad either, but now he’s in California living with a Filipino woman.

"I’ve missed you," she said. "I remember you. You were such a precious boy." I literally can’t remember her name. I know she’s blonde. Or she was blonde. I think I’m right about that. She sounds like a country song.

"Thank you."

I remember my uncle’s name. Earl. My dad’s dad was named Earl. My mom’s dad was Earl also. And my step-dad’s father-in-law was Earl. A roomful of Earls, all gone now. My dad’s dad, Earl, got run off by his mom’s boyfriend, Martin, with a knife. My dad never saw his father again after that. They were all living in a fleabag motel in Scranton, N.J. My dad tells me Martin was a real sweetheart. He’d lock my dad and his brother up in the closet. Or he’d force them out in the snow with no shoes. He beat them mercilessly. When my dad and Earl (the brother) got old enough, they caught Martin on the eighth floor of the brewery he worked at. My dad says they tried to shove him out of the window, but his body wouldn’t fit.

"What’d you do?"

"Oh, we just beat him with a lead pipe. Left him for dead and came to Texas."

Such is life.

My kids are OK.

My aunt’s name is Loretta.

And I got to call my dad and tell him his brother died eight years ago.


- 6/6/2006 10:14:36 PM | link


No school like the New School

From the school of absolute non-statements:

"We have nothing to fear from anyone on this living planet."

Here’s the full text of McCain’s speech.

I realize this is old news, but sometimes it takes me awhile to catch up here on ye olde bloge.

I won’t comment on either speech except to say that I do find it interesting that his speech essentially predicted the behavior of the audience. Assuming that he wrote it prior to even being aware of a controversy and yet knowing one would be stirred up, does this point to an even more cynical viewpoint than the one proposed by the young graduating missus? Do these events come pre-packaged on both sides? In other words, did McCain’s handlers know this speech (and the fact that he would present it at both the New School and the conservative Falwell’s Liberty University) would draw out the whacko lefty side of the Democratic party and therefore be an excellent way to give him conservative cred when he desperately needs it? And did the Democrats know that they could effectively isolate the whacko left by marginalizing them into the stale proto-60s-revolutionary mode? I mean, these people won’t vote for Hillary anyway, so let’s use them to stir up a ruckus and distract from how much we actually agree with the fundamental positions of the Republican party (two-party politics creates a status quo of sorts that we’re happy to take advantage of when it suits us).

I will say this. I like McCain in a way. He did sacrifice a whole shitload more than most of us ever will for our country (even though this, in itself is a repeated cliche that is too often used to deflect criticism). And he seems ready, at any moment, to break free of his handlers and say something original. Maybe I’m wrong and he’s a complete tool. Then I’d have to say Ms. Rohe was a tool of sorts in her way, as well.


- 6/4/2006 11:20:16 AM | link




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