July 31, 2007

I was listening to The Story on my local NPR station today when they aired a story about bullying. It was actually a follow-up story to one that focused on a 12 year old who was subject to daily bullying by his schoolmates. It didn't seem to be the type of bullying where the big kid beats up the little kid for his lunch money, but more of the typical type of bullying - a kid being picked on relentlessly by numerous students because they are different. The original and the follow-up stories really hit home with me. I was picked on for quite sometime during my childhood. It isn't easy growing up as "Fat Matt." How convenient, my name even rhymes. I wasn't morbidly obese, but definitely overweight. I remained physically active, played ball with kids on the block - kickball, touch football, street hockey, running bases. But when it came to being included at school, I remained an outcast. Even to this day I have a hard time forgiving the people that hurt my feelings repeatedly so long ago. But while listening to the program I started thinking about what impact that had on me and who I am. Don't get me wrong, I would never have wanted to go through all that, but as I was growing up and even to this day, it became an important aspect of who I am. For example, when I was in Cub Scouts, there was another kid my age who was picked on even worse than I was. During an event, he chose to sit and hide in a teepee instead of interact with the other members of our troop. I chose to sit with him for a little while in that teepee and just talk and hang out. I asked myself, if I had never been picked on myself, would I have been that compassionate or would I have ridiculed him as well? School is supposed to be a safe place. We figure that as long as nobody has "beat up" our kids then school is safe. But abuse can cut even deeper when it is psychological abuse. When kids hear repeatedly from their peers, the people they look to most for acceptance, that they are not good enough, they begin to internalize it. It becomes part of their persona - "maybe I'm not cool," "maybe I am ugly," etc. This is baggage that a person can carry their entire life and never recognize it. I was fortunate to find a small group of friends growing up who didn't care if I was "fat Matt" or cool, or ugly, or whatever. And to this day they are still my friends. A few of them have moved and live right up the road from me, while other, though distant, will still visit from time to time. Sure, I can see where I may have developed some insecurities from my treatment growing up, but I continue to reflect on it to help make me a better person. Our past is part of who we are, we can not deny that, so we must accept it and build on it. But now, as adults, we get to build it the way we want it. We have more power to control than we did when we were kids. The Dalai Lama says that we should not only love those who are close and friendly to us, but we should also love our enemies because it is they who put challenges before us that help us to grow stronger.

July 30, 2007

Evan is officially a 1st grader. This morning his stomach was in knots - a combination of anxiety, excitement, and nerves. But once he got to school he slid right back into the routine. Sitting at his table are two of his friends from kindergarten and two students he did not know. One of the familiars at his table was Cameron, his "partner in crime" from Ms. Riggins' class. Although they are at the same table they do not sit next to each other, which, if it was deliberate by the teacher, was a good idea - keep familiar students near but not right next to each other, force them to make new friends. The first day of school video will be forthcoming.

Mike Duncan, chairman of the RNC, is up to his tricks, he is now trying to bash John Edwards' stand on Iraq. In yet another email I received he points out that Edwards has changed his position on Iraq, quite recently. But what he misses is that starting to pull troops out of Iraq does not constitute abandoning Iraq to al-Qaeda. There are other ways to support Iraq and fight terrorism than by sacrificing our young servicemen and women. Political, financial, and trade support can also help the Iraqis fight terrorism in their own country. The United States can provide support, but does not need to be the front line. But the Republican National Committee only sees things as "black and white" - either you fight al-Qaeda but keeping the troops in Iraq or you abandon the fight against terrorism by pulling troops from Iraq. And that is the problem with the Republican control of the White House for the last 6 years, they do not see any middle ground, it is all or nothing for them. Bush said it himself not long after 9/11: "either you're with us or against us." What he fails to realize is that maybe other countries around the world want to fight terrorism but not on George Bush's terms. It is the very nature of fascism.

July 29, 2007

"The Simpson's Movie". Pretty funny. I enjoyed it. Go see it. 'Nuff said.



Was out late at Mercer and Keith's last night playing poker. I ended up about $2 ahead. But I gave it all to Mercer anyway who shelled out a lot of money to get supplies for the evening. we were celebrating Keith's birthday, so Mercer invited a bunch of people over. Unfortunately, I was the only person to show up, along with Darren who was visiting from Maryland. I am a bit ticked off at all the people from Mercer's job who didn't show up. I mean, I don't know them, but they were rude to stand him up like that. Especially after he spent the entire day preparing for the event. Maybe I am better off not meeting them.

Evan starts school tomorrow. He will be in 1st grade! Unbelievable! He seems excited, but we will know for sure tomorrow morning when he is getting ready. That will give me the next 2 weeks during the day to take care of what I need to here - fixing up the house or building or planning for the school year. It would have been almost 3 weeks except that as one of the advisers for the class of 2008 I have the responsibility to supervise the members of the council who will be decorating the newly inaugurated "Senior Wall" the last week before the teachers have to be back at school. I am not really all that thrilled with that idea since, just like that, I have lost the last week of summer break! And who planned the event to be that week? The class president! Hmmmm.... glad I had a say in the matter!

July 27, 2007

You know, there is a chance that Barry Bonds won't break Hank Aaron's record. July has not been a good month for Bonods, who only has 9 hits for all of July, 3 of them being homeruns. I guess at this rate he will beat the record in late August (Bonds is 2 short of tying and 3 shy of owning the career homerun record). I am still hoping that he pulls his hamstring and will be done for his career before it happens, but it seems inevitable that he will soon oen the record. I know that retribution will come in the same form as Mark Maguire - denial into the Hall of Fame.

I received another email from the chairman of the RNC. He is boasting about how the "President"'s polls are on the rise while Congress' is on the decline. What Mr. Duncan fails to point out is that there isn't much farther that Bush's numbers can fall. In other words, all he can do is go up. I think the latest polls will put him around 31%. Somebody needs to let Mike Duncan know that 31% approval rating is nothing to boast about. If this were an election year, Bush would find himself on the losing side (again!).

The polls that Duncan uses to illustrate support for Iraq are flawed (as are most polls). First, he considers anything coming out of Fox News as reliable. As any even semi-educated person knows is that Fox news is nothing more than the voice of the White House. I like to call it the "White House Press Release." Next, the questions are very leading (or misleading).

1) Do you support Americans leaving Iraq immediately? The problem is "immediately." Not even members of Congress opposed to American involvment in Iraq favor immediate withdrawal from Iraq.

2) Would Iraq be better or worse off if US left Iraq and how? This poll is based on Fox News data, therefore it is unreliable and biased.

3) Overall data on Iraq: A majority (51%) say that troop increase has improved Iraq. Again, Fox News data. Since this data is skewed, the 51% is inflated. So in reality, the actual data would be less than a majority.

4) Should Congress wait for General Petraeus' report before deciding on Iraq?
According to USA Today/Gallup 55% would prefer waiting while Fox News says 64% (see inflated). If I am correct, all proposals have to do with after September. So what does this question really mean to ask?

A quote I like to use regarding statistics: "There are three types of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics."

July 25, 2007

Following up on a previous story, my order from VictoriasSecret.com still hasn't arrived. In their response email this morning they said that they will be sending out the order again and I will have it within 2 days! That leaves just tomorrow. We'll see.

This morning we woke up and watched the rest of the movie "Hook". It is a neat movie. If you have never seen it, I recommend it. Robin Williams plays Peter Pan, but all grown up and forgotten that he was once a kid. He has to make peace with himself and his young children who are kidnapped by Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman).

I spent most of the day at Rae and Jeff's fixing the rail on the front porch and then at their pool. I feel bad because I did not finish the job. That is, the problem is rot in the wood and there is more rot than we anticipated. So I got as far as I could and will leave it to them to decide the next move.

Michelle offered to take Evan to swim lessons today. Keith went to the doctor today for his knee so Mercer asked if I could pick him up from work. So I dropped Evan off at Michelle's job and continued on to Mercer's. We then went to a few stores to buy a card table and some folding chairs for Keith's birthday party this Saturday which will consist mostly of playing poker.

Dinner was at the Loop, we came home and I got a chance to relax. I am supposed to be picking up Dan, Wendy, and Aidan from the airport but their flight from California was cancelled so I will picking them up first thing tomorrow. I really feel bad for them because they have to stay overnight in an airport with Aidan, who is only almost 4.

July 24, 2007

What sense does this make? On July 10, I ordered some pajamas for Michelle from VictoriasSecret.com. The anticipated date of delivery was July 24. I figured that it wouldn't actually be that long, unless they were being shipped from Mars, and since we don't have any trade agreements with Mars, I figured it to be unlikely. What is confusing is that my payment cleared with them on July 13. Well, I am sure you can guess, today being the 24th and I still have not received the package. I am little confused. They have had my money for 11 days, where is my order? Even if it was shipped via USPS on the following Monday (July 16) it should have arrived last week sometime. So what is the story?

Today, when Evan woke up, he played in his room which allowed me a couple of hours more sleep; I didn't get up until after 9! He and I played games today, board games and video games. In fact, we were in our pjs most of the day (nice perk of summer vacation from time to time). We went to swim lessons under overcast skies, though only the slightest drizzle occurred. Much to my disappointment, Evan has seemed to digress in his swimming lessons. Last week, where Evan was swimming across the pool with the life jacket, today he wouldn't swim to the middle of the pool with the life jacket on. His complaint was that Nolan wanted them to just float there without swimming which made Evan uncomfortable. It is confusing for me, but what can I do.

Wow, you know, it seems like I have had a bit of confusion today, and not much of it has cleared up.

July 22, 2007

Don't look now Tony Parker, but has the honeymoon wore off already? Is Eva eyeing David Beckham, or is she simply supporting her hometown team?


OK, so she was there with Beckham's wife, Posh Spice, or whatever, but you know how things go on "Desperate Housewives", they are all just waiting to stab each other in the back!

I guess I am a little bit in the doghouse. Apparently I am not doing enough around the house, as far cleaning up and such, as someone on summer vacation should. So, decidedly, Michelle is a bit stand-offish. I dunno. It bothers me but at the same time frustrates me. I agree and I disagree, but, what can I do. That's all I have to say about that.

Nothing very eventful actually. We are getting ready for a garage sale next week. As it turns out, it will be the same day as Keith's birthday bash. That is, poker night at their place! I think I better get onto PokerStars.net a little bit this week to be ready to play. But, then again, when will I have time between making the house spotless, spending time with Evan, going to the bathroom, taking Evan to swim lessons, and getting to sleep at a reasonable hour so I can kick this chest thing - I feel much better today, thanks for asking!

July 21, 2007

It is decided. The winner of the crappiest actor ever award is.... Hayden Christensen. You know, Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars Episodes 2 and 3. His range of emotion include: 1) comatose and 2) whiny b!tch. That's all, end of story, good night.

And so it has begun. I got an email from the chairman of the Republican party. He has already began the "flip-flopping" fight. This time he is accusing Barack Obama of changing his mind on Iraq. Here is the email:

Last week, you helped us remind Hillary Clinton of her political calculations on Iraq. Her top Democrat rival, Barack Obama, has been running as a candidate for change. Perhaps now it's time to remind everyone of his changing positions on Iraq, as well.
Today, Obama supported legislation requiring most U.S. troops to be out of Iraq by April 30, 2008.

But in 2004, Obama said that a quick withdrawal from Iraq would be "a slap in the face" to the troops. And in 2006, he said that he did "not believe that setting a date certain for the total withdrawal of U.S. troops [was] the best approach to achieving" our goals. [click here to see videos]

In May of this year, Obama promised to provide critical funding for the troops. His exact words:

"[W]hat you don't want to do is to play chicken with the President, and create a situation in which, potentially, you don't have body armor, you don't have reinforced Humvees, you don't have night-vision goggles."

Then, just weeks later, he voted against the emergency Iraq spending bill that would have provided critical funds for body armor, mine resistant vehicles, and to help combat IEDs.

By his own admission, Obama understands that our enemies will wait us out in Iraq.
But, with today's comments, it seems clear that he's more concerned with pandering to the left wing of the party than standing by his previous statements.
Contact Obama here, and ask him to put the security of the nation and the safety of our troops above politics.

I am SO tired of this Republican rhetoric. So I actually sent an email to Senator Obama.

Mr. Obama,

Today I received an email from Mike Duncan, chairman of the RNC. He asked me to email you regarding your "change" of position on Iraq. He cited your stance in speeches in 2004 and in 2006. But I think it is Mr. Duncan who is missing the point. People change as circumstances change, and the circumstances in Iraq have certainly changed in Iraq since 2004 and 2006. As a result, I am emailing you today to tell you, contrary to Mr. Duncan's request, to be bold and vote for a change. It is not a question of whether you have changed you opinion, but instead it is whether the situation in Iraq has changed. Keep up the good work and keep up the fight.

Matthew P. Caggia
Registered Independent

Need I say more?

I also picked up my copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". Now, if any one I know out there is reading it, please note, I have not yet finished re-reading all of the previous 6 books. So I am asking you not to tell me what happens in book 7! The suspense is killing me, but hopefully that will be more incentive to read faster!

July 20, 2007

Pneumonia! Would you believe it? The doctor this morning said pneumonia! Well, he said that if what I have continues untreated it could become pneumonia. So he prescribed me some antibiotics and cough medicine with codine (a sense a good night's sleep ahead). This should take care of what is ailing me. On the other hand, I guess that means I won't be going to the Borders "Harry Potter Party" lasting until after midnight, I'll have to get my book tomorrow at some point. Yeah, like I was going? Besides, my wizard robes are at the cleaners.

Check out this video:

Just another political move for the Bush administration (you know what, I am going to start calling it the Cheney administration since Bush isn't smart enough to call his own shots). This is just an attempt to gain support for the prolonging of troops in Iraq. The video mentions how this will shield commanders from prosecution from war crime? We know that won't happen, the United States does not recognize the International Court of Justice as having any authority. Being an agency of the United Nations, it is another example of how the United States has made the UN obsolete, not the rest of the world. By the way, ever wonder why the US won't recognize the ICOJ?

July 19, 2007

Not feeling too well today. But I'll get over it.

Evan and I went to breakfast this morning at Perkins. I got this new Ham and Egg wrap breakfast, disgusting. We ordered a side of bacon, there was more grease and fat than bacon. Evan and usually don't mind Perkins for breakfast, but today was not one of their better days!

I thought I might try a new hobby. I want to paint minature fantasy figurines - you know sorcerors, elves, knights, that kind of thing. I rolled into the the local shop I knew with the supplies and once I began talking to the store's owner about the craft, I decided I should research it a little more. It isn't something you can just jump into, it is quite involved. Once that gets going, I will post some pics of the figures.

I read an article today from Z Magazine. It is an interesting article. It is titled, "U.S. Atomic Bomb Test Unreported". I thought, "Hmm, that's interesting... lemme see what this is about." It is about the journalist who, in 2006, went to Japan to interview survivors of the Hiroshima bombing in 1945. As fate would have it, on one of the days he was there a huge demonstration took place in response to a US nuclear bomb test that morning in Nevada. Do we really still test nuclear weapons? Does our government really do it where winds can carry radioactive byproducts of the detonation to its citizens? If the test was underground, do they have any idea what type of effects this would have on the tectonics or on the water table? Will there be contamination? Oh, c'mon, they didn't really conduct a nuclear test, did they?

July 18, 2007

Yesterday was kind of slow. We met Michelle at Cracker Barrel before dropping her dad off at the airport. He returned to NY yesterday and will be staying with Lisa for a few day before heading back to Maine.

Evan had swim lessons, erhm, swim practice yesterday and today. He is doing so much better than two weeks ago. He will float around the pool with the lif vest on. In fact, today, by himself, assisted by the life vest, he swam halfway across the pool and back several time after swim lessons. We are very proud.

This afternoon we went to the NC Museum of Natural Science - it is his favorite place to go. He like to tool around, go to the discovery room where he can play in costumes, look through microscopes, learn about many topics with the discovery boxes. We saw meet the animals today. We got to see an Snapping Alligator Turtle, we were not allowed to pet it because it might snap at us. we also saw a South American Opossum, Evan chose not to pet it. And we saw a North American Alligator (there are only 2 species of alligator - North American and Chinese). We were allowed to pet it because it was still very small. Evan and I always have a nice time at the museum. Someday I will just make a compilation of photos taken at the same sites in the museum with Evan in the so we can see how much bigger he has grown!

July 16, 2007

A pretty slow day. Evan did start swim lessons again. We enrolled him in level 1 again to help him build his confidence in the pool. His swim instructor from last session suggested that Evan get more comfortable in the pool before enrolling in level 2, even though he passed level 1. He is trying. His new instructor's name is Nolan. He seems ok, so far. One thing I like is that he teaching his lessons away from the stairs, but Evan has so far been reluctant to come off of them. Hopefully he will move away in order to get the most out of his lessons. And by the way, if you should see Evan, we are calling them "practice" not lessons since he already passed the class. He was pretty upset when we told him we signed him up for level 1 again.

We rented "The Chronicles of Narnia" today. It seems ok, but it does move kind of slowly. Evan really wasn't into it that much. He really just wanted to watch the other movie we rented, "Pee Wee's Big Adventure". He really likes that movie since we watched it back in May on HBO. At least it isn't more of the Weird Al videos, they are really starting to get on my nerves (thanks Mercer!).

I also finished re-reading the 4th installment of the harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". I really don't think I will have books 5 and 6 re-read by Saturday. So, I plan on picking up the book but not reading it until I have re-read 5 & 6. I hope having book 7 in my possession will help me to speed along reading the prior 2. We'll see.

July 15, 2007

I'd like to begin with a correction from yesterday. "Carnival of the Animals" was first a musical suite composed by Camille Saint-Saens in 1886. John Lithgow recently wrote a childrens' book that was inspired by this piece.

Today was a rather slow day. I continue to upload older pictures to our online photo album. And we really didn't do much until the afternoon when we did a little shopping. This evening however was very disappointing. We saw "Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End". Extremely disappointing. It dragged on and on. Octopus face, Davy Jones, played too large a part. The trilogy became more and more fantasy as it went on. I don't know what to say other than, save your money until you can rent it. Sure there were fight scenes, plots intertwined, double-crossing, even triple-crossing. But really, enough is enough. None were as clever or as clear as in the original "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl".

July 14, 2007

"It is bad on Friday the 13th, but it gets worse on Saturday, the 14th." At least that was the tag line for the movie "Saturday the 14th" which I found to be pretty funny, back in the day! Nah, but nothing bad today. Nice quiet day while Michelle, Evan, and Art went to the pool.

This evening we went to see the North Carolina Symphony play "Carnival of the Animals" at the Koka Booth Amphitheater in Cary. While I was there, I thought I would try something new, well, new for me...vlogging. That's right, if you haven't heard of it, it is blogging on video. And what makes this one more special if that it was done "on location." Check it out, the camera angle isn't very flattering but it was fun to do!



The second half of the show was more than half, it was about 1 hour of music. It was nice, Evan enjoyed the music and they did a little video as well. Carnival of the Animals is a childrens' book written by John Lithgow and so they put it to music with a narrator for the book. It was quite nice.

July 13, 2007

Oooo, don't look now, it's Friday the 13th!

But why is this day so notorious? Way back, during the Crusades, the pope felt that the Knights Templar were plotting to overthrow him. He denounced them as heretics and sent order to have them executed. This order was carried out on Friday the 13th.

Today, was not a bad day at all. We ended up in Chapel Hill. We visited Michelle's friend Tammy, with whom she worked years ago. Then we went to Franklin St. to have some lunch and visit a sort of museum called Kidzu. Kidzu was small and consisted of several stations for kids to do some creative things. We were done in the place after about 30 minutes. Oh well, Michelle's dad paid $4/person for us to get in. I want him to get his money back, but i don't think it works that way.



After that, and a stop in Ben & Jerry's we went home before Evan's last swim lesson. And guess what? He has successfully completed Level 1! We are excited, but he was advised that he should definitely practice much more with being comfortable in the pool, jumping in, head underwater and venturing away from the wall before he attempts Level 2. We will work on it. But we also plan on keeping him going all year with swimming at indoor facilities so that he remains comfortable.

July 12, 2007

They say two-and-a-half stars. I give it at least one more, maybe even full marks. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is an excellent movie. Action and intrigue throughout. Mind you, if you have read the books, there are quite a few things missing, however, if they were to include everything that was in the book, you would be watching a 5 hour movie! The story does get darker and does not have as tidy an ending as you would desire, but that is the story. The book does not end neatly, you do not leave with an overwhelming happy feeling. Those who follow the life of Harry Potter know that there will have to be some sort of final showdown between Harry and Voldemort and that will, of course, wait until the 7th book (and movie). So, things will have to get worse before they get better. The special effects were good, the acting excellent, the story good.



On the other hand, as we were leaving the theater, we noticed several families leaving, including young children - and by young, I mean under the age of 4! This movie, is by NO means a movie for youngsters! It is violent, it can easily conjure nightmares in the more impressionable. Why such young children were allowed to watch this movie, is beyond me. On the other hand, I don't always agree with the way people raise their children, nor is it my place to tell them how - I can however do it here! Lewis Black put it best, some people should required to take a test before they are allowed to have children.

July 11, 2007

Happy 9th anniversary to me and Michelle. Amazing, time flies, huh? Those who were there and remember the wedding and reception, I hope you had as good a time as we did. If you were there and you don't remember, what is wrong with you!?!? And if you weren't there, I am sorry we didn't invite you! Either way, here are some pictures from our wedding.

Yesterday was MLB's All-Star game, from AT&T Park in San Francisco. The big news was Barry Bonds being elected to go by the fans in the last week of balloting. He was so excited, and it was such an honor, blah, blah, blah.... Barry, I still don't care. I am glad to see what a disappointing night you had 0-2 with 2 left on base. Bummer, couldn't even get a hit in your own ballpark. Barry Bonds is 5 homeruns away from tying Hank Aaron's all-time homerun record and the buzz is "Will Bud Selig (commissioner of baseball) be there when Bonds breaks the record?" First of all, Selig should be there. The record is broken on his watch, he should be there unlike Bowie Kent Kuhn who was absent when Aaron broke Babe Ruth's record. But, Selig should also be there because the whole steroid problem occurred on his watch as well. And if Bonds breaks this record (which clearly he will unless either Mercer or I win our bet - Mercer hopes Bonds blows out his knee and never plays again, I hope he pulls him hamstring and has to struggle to walk for the rest of the season) then Selig should be there because he allowed it to happen - Barry Bonds, has clearly jacked up on steroids since leaving Pittsburgh.

It is so bad that whenever Bonds is on TV, my son, Evan, says, "Daddy, that's the cheater."

July 10, 2007

Evan and would have different opinions about today. I would say we accomplished much, I bought an anniversary card (our 9 year anniversary is tomorrow), a new pair of sneakers, sunglasses. Wrote a more detailed blog in Matt's Meandering Meditations about wiretapping and right to privacy. Took Evan to swim lessons, but they were cancelled due to stormy weather, went to dinner a Torero's, won the Stanley Cup (NHL 06 for PS2), and am now summing up my day. Evan on the other hand, watched TV, played in his playroom, kept me company at the mall while I made my purchases, didn't get to have swim lessons, went to Mexican restaurant for dinner when he really wanted Chik-fil-a, came home, took a bath, and went to bed. Really, uneventful. Evan was big-time disappointed because he really wanted to show off that he over came his fear of putting his head in the pool, but instead he will have to wait until tomorrow, where he can show Grandpa Art, because he will be arriving tomorrow afternoon!

July 9, 2007

This morning, Evan and I got up, got dressed, and got out early. Well, kinda early. We went to Brig's for breakfast, walked a few storefronts down and got our hairs cut, and then walked even a few more storefronts and hit the supermarket. And we were back by 11. Nice, except it is a little too early. What that means is that Evan then had all day to be bored until swim lessons. I, on the other hand, was not bored because I am still straightening up my office. I am nearly done but it is infinitely frustrating when I am trying to accomplish my office but Evan keeps making feel bad that he is bored. He wants to come into the office to play PlayStation, but he can't because he would be in the way, or he wants me to play games with him, and when I do, I get less accomplished in the office. That's all OK, I am almost done and it won't be an issue for long. Even better, once we have our garage sale at the end of the month and get rid of the boxes of things that I pulled out of the office, I will be much happier. I will have room in the garage again (oh yeah, several boxes of things from the office are now in the way in the garage instead of in the office). And once I have the room, I will build the hutch for my desk which will allow me more storage space for the little odds and ends associated with the computer. Whew!

A brighter note, we really like Evan's swim instructor, Mack. Don't ask me how he did it, because I promised to not pay attention, but he got Evan to dunk his head in the pool several times today! I know it doesn't sound like much, but we are really excited. This is a huge step for a kid who won't take a shower (he only takes baths) because he doesn't like water in his face! It is also a huge step to feeling more comfortable in the pool. It means that he won't be afraid to play in the pool with other kids and he won't miss out on that fun (like I did because I was never comfortable being submerged in the pool).

July 7, 2007

Sorry I missed yesterday's blog, but, nothing happened. What can I say. Today, well, I saw a movie, more hype than substance - for a 36 year old, at least. Transformers, the cartoon action heros of my youth, remain an oddity for the youth. The movie, though packed with special effects, lacked substance. I found it to be campy, cliche, soft, and not what a full-fledged transformers movie could be. On the other hand, it seems that it would be an excellent movie for say a 12 years old. The action was enough, the jokes simple, and the message easy. That being said, adults interested in watching it, wait for a rental, or dare I say, HBO.

On the other hand, there was quite a bit of eye candy. Megan Fox, I don't know who she is, is hot!


And Rachel Taylor was very easy on the eyes as well!

(I could not find a picture of her from the movie that would allow me to save it)

July 5, 2007

Evan has been letting me sleep late this week, if you call 8:30 am late. We've kinda been keeping it low-keyed: board games mostly. We went up to Borders today so that I can pre-order Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I am very excited for it to come out (release date is July 21) but I am still two-and-a-half books behind. That is to say, I have read all the books to date, but I want to re-read them to make sure I am not forgetting anything. I want to be able figure it out, to make it a challenge as I read book 7 to predict what is coming around the corner. Look below to play a trivia game for Harry Potter.

The office is starting to come together. I am making another CD rack for in the closet to match the first one I made. We have so many more CDs now I need more storage. I cleaned out many of the books that I do not use (evidenced by the fact that I have not touched many of them in several years!) so now the shelves are mostly empty except for the mearly full shelf devoted to VHS movies, the two-thirds full shelf devoted to DVD movies, two shelves devoted to CDs, and two shelves devoted to school books. The way I see it is I have to cut down on so much of what I teach, I don't need all of the information in the many books I removed from the shelves. I can pack them away until I have a huge house with a library in which I can display all my books.

July 4, 2007

Ok, it is Independence Day. In 1776, "we" declared our independence from Great Britain. Of course a war ensued, which was continued in 1812, after King George died. Well, here we are, 2007, and we are still ruled by King George. George Bush, that is, pilgrim (in my best John "the Duke" Wayne voice). It seems that some 231 years later it has been proven that we have replaced one tyrant for another. Freedoms and liberties are being violated at the whim of the government that controls a Supreme Court that would help bring it to power (2000 election). In a system where no one is supposed to be above the law, we have rampant cronyism throughout the higher echelon of government. Where convicted criminals have their sentences reduced to nothing while they await a full pardon. Where taxes are levied not to better serve the people, but to pay out government contracts won by friends of the administration so that war can be waged that will help to award more government contracts. Where taxes are being used to bolster failing businesses and industries making it easier for them to keep up their poor business models and ethics which will land more jobs overseas and more Americans on unemployment or underemployed.

Pardon my cynicism, but I am not having a good day!

It reminds me of a joke I heard recently.

Three surgeons were talking over drinks, bragging about some of their most remarkable surgeries. The first doctor said, "I had a baseball who nearly had his arm completely torn off in a car wreck, the only thing keeping it on was a flap of skin. I did my best to fix up his arm, and I'll be damned if he didn't go out and pitch a no-hitter the very next night!"

The second doctor said, "That is pretty impressive. I had a patient who had both his hands complete mangled in a machine, fingers barely recognizable. And I tell you what, the very next night after I performed the surgery, he went out and performed an entire Chopin piano concerto at Carnegie Hall."

The third doctors, with quite a thick "southern" accent said, "Wow, those are some very impressive surgeries. But in the back woods where I am from we don't get to see things quite that amazing. But there was this one cowboy fella, who got hit by a train. All that was left was his cowboy hat and the horse's ass. After I was done with my surgery, he went on to be President of the United States!"

July 3, 2007

A nice quiet day at home. Not much really to write home about. Evan and I hung out, played games, watched TV. My office is starting to be usable again. I can't complain. In fact, we were in our pjs all day until about 4pm... nice.

I did read about Bush commuting "Scooter" Libby's sentence today. I am a bit disappointed to see that. Where is the justice? Then I read that Bush hasn't ruled out a full pardon for Libby in the future. Yeah... ok, no cronyism going on there. I have a stronger opinion about it in another blog, if you want to read more of it.

July 2, 2007

Wow, Joe. Thanks for that very touching video this morning. That woman is really something special, to give that much of herself for nothing in return. What she helps to give to these families is closure to a tragedy. She helps these families grieve and to bring home their lost loved ones. Now, I am not going to get into I support or oppose this war, it is irrelevant. But anytime a parent has to bury a child is a tragedy, regardless of the circumstances. And the efforts of this woman to try and make the process easier for these families is something special. Something worth taking notice of.

Watch the story: http://mfile.akamai.com/21772/wmv/gannett.download.akamai.com/21772/streaming/wmv/hancockportraits.asx

Meanwhile, Evan and I argued for half the day about riding a bike. The weather for the beginning of the week is supposed to be mild and want to be outside with Evan enjoying it. Sure, there are many ways to enjoy outside. Ultimately, we agreed on going to the park, playing kickball, soccer, and the playground. But before that, it was a scene. How can you convince a 6 year old that he will not fall off his bike and break a bone? don't know, but obviously, I am not capable. Michelle, on the other hand, got him to ride his bike up and down the street this evening after soccer practice.

July 1, 2007

Allow me to serve you some perspective. That is to say, we saw the new Disney-Pixar movie Ratatouille. Once again, Pixar's animation is excellent. However this time, the story, not so much. I say that because when a movie that is less than 2 hours (110 minutes) feels longer than 2 hours, then I must not have been that impressed. what makes this a bigger problem is that it is supposed to be a kids' movie. If I was losing my patience, imagine the kids?

But to their credit, just as most animated movies attempt today, Pixar created a movie that is entertaining for kids with a simple story line but masks a complicated lesson for grown ups with clever bits here and there designed for the adults to catch. For example, one lesson that is to be learned from this movie is that greatness can come from anywhere, or anyone. A person's background, gender, race, heritage does not matter when it comes to what they can strive to be. Another lesson is that societal change can come if people are willing to move forward, to look past stereotypes and try to move forward.

What is always clever about Disney movies (as well as Dreamworks) is their ability to mask these bigger lessons in "kids" movies. Sort of a subliminal message that they plant inside their cartoons for children to watch and see over and over again so by the time they grow up, it is something not foreign to them and can even become second nature; it is an idea that was planted inside their psyche waiting to surface when the time arises.

If you plan on seeing this movie, tell me what lessons you see.

Oh, and by the way, Mercer, the main character, Remy, his voice was done by Patton Oswald.

Oh, and by the way, Keith, I did a little research on the Harrier Jet and its variants. It seems that in addition to VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) and STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) they are capable of hovering maneuvers. Sorry I ever doubted you!

June 30, 2007

I am having such a hard time cleaning out this office! It is pretty circular. I feel like I am moving things from one pile to another and at the end of the day I have the same amount of stuff, just the piles look different! UGH!

Saw Live Free or Die Hard today. Good movie, if you like the whole Die Hard thing - lots of explosions, shooting, terrorist plots, foiled crime, sarcasm - I do. I was very much entertained. And, of course, in the end John McClane gets the bad guy, saves the US and his daughter. I hope I didn't spoil the ending for you, but if you know Die Hard movies, you know that it would end that way.

Saw a trailer for a m ovie that looks like it has lots of potential. Lions for Lambs. Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Robert Redford. Clearly a criticism on the current administration and the direction that our American "democracy" is going. I will be seeing that movie when it is released. You know I eat that stuff up!

Yippee Kay Yay Mo----

Oh, and by the way, Keith, I did a little research on the Harrier Jet and its variants. It seems that in addition to VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) and STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) they are capable of hovering maneuvers. Sorry I ever doubted you!