Simpsonized?

I fell for the marketing ploy. I sent my picture to the "Simpsonizer" and this is what I look like after I get squashed into two-dimensions.


Not a horrible un-likeness. I think I look better than Jerry.
Well - in two-dimensions anyway.

Have not seen the movie yet, but plan to soon.

Can this be real?

I don't follow the sports drama, much. I was sad to hear about the assistant coach who was killed by a line drive. I heard that an NBA official is alleged to be helping 'fix' over/unders (I just except that sports betting is corrupt). And Vic got busted for fighting dogs.

Here is a supposedly true copy of the court document. It is from SLATE and I suspect it is the real deal.



You may have to blow up the image. Note the top of the complaint. The Defendants are "approximately 53 pit bulldogs". This concerns me. How do pit bulldogs get a legal standing and why are they on the defense? And why 'approximately'? Could the officials involved in this search and seizure not count? Apparently not. The top of the third page of the document says they found 54 pit bulldogs. Maybe it is 'approximately' because they don't want to make it appear that all of the dogs are defendants. Maybe some of them were just visiting and not involved in the fighting.

Shouldn't Vic be the defendant? Does anyone think Vic is going to lose in the end?

Hey - It is our tax dollars at work.

Picnic Video

I got just a wee bit bored tonight.

So I made a short video (mostly of the kids) from the picnic. I used Sting because (of course) I just went to the concert and it seemed apropos.

Enjoy!

Picnic and mini-graduation

Thanks to Nicole Bingaman, we managed to pull together a summer picnic for the Milton Program Center. We also had a short but meaningful graduation ceremony for Jerry (who passed his GED this Spring). We had a great turn-out and I thank everyone for showing their support for Jerry.

Mr. Jim and Ms. Nicole both said a few words of recognition. Mr. Jim recalled Jerry's academic efforts. Ms. Nicole commented on how much Jerry has grown in his heart. She also gave him a 'HOPE' hoody.

Jerry impressed everyone with his comments. He thanked everyone for their help in getting him to where he is in his life right now. He spoke very well and with sincere emotion. He even remembered to thank Mia and I.

The Police 2007 - 2008 World Tour

Saw them!!!
It was everything I expected and a bit more. I figured that they would sound good. I knew I would enjoy the show. I was surprised at how enthused The Police were and how the enthusiasm carried through the crowd.

The opening act was "Fiction Plane". My brother had already explained to me that "Fiction Plane" was a band lead by Sting's son, Joe Sumner. Even without that knowledge, it would have been likely that I would have figured that out on my own. He looks and sounds like his father in many ways, with enough of a shift to not sound like a young version of his dad. Fiction Plane is a band that will go far with or without the support of "The Police".

I could go into a long list of what I liked about the concert and detail how the show went, but Kira Schlechter of the Patriot-News wrote a near perfect article. The only additional comment I would have made is that it was great to hear (and watch) Andy Summers do solos. Back in the 80's, he never got to do that. I suppose it was because it would not have fit the Punk feel of the band.

Of course, the best part of the concert was that I went to see it with my brother and sister-in-law. We get to spend so little time together. It was great to be able to take most of a day and just go do something without being interrupted. And if your going to go do something, well . . . It might as well be watching the Police back together again.

Athletic Shorts

Chris Crutcher returns to some of his characters from other books. This collection is a quick read. Crutcher shows that he is able to capture the same intensity that he does in his novels in short stories. Read the other books first.

I read the book today. I did skip one of the stories with a character from another one of the novels, 'running loose', until I get a chance to read it.

It was a wonderful day to lay outside and read. I read the first half of the book this morning while sitting on my porch. I finished reading the book at the Selinsgrove pool.

Went to a friends for dinner. All-in-all, A real kickback kinda day.

Death of the Flicker Widget

I decided to ex-nay the Flickr widget. Picasa is working just fine and it will save a little loading time on the blog.

www.flickr.com

This is a Flickr badge showing photos in a set called blog badge. Make your own badge here.

So - So Long and thanks for the pictures little widget.

Cell Phone Angst

I don't remember if I mentioned this before. On our way back from New Hampshire we stopped at a rest stop (well, several rest stops). I was amazed when I walked into the rest stop following an older gentleman talking on his cellphone. He wasn't on any fancy remote or bluetooth. He was just carrying it in his hand. He managed to undo his pants, pee, and zip himself up, while carrying on his conversation. I don't remember if he washed his hands.

WHAT THE H#@L IS SO IMPORTANT! Couldn't it have waited?

I wrote about going out to dinner last night. I didn't mention the cell phones. At one point in the evening, there were six people on cell phones just in our section. I took notice, because every time a cell phone rang, Junior and my kid would go for their cell phones to see if the were ringing.

AGAIN - WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT?!

I'm vowing right know - this evening - to leave my cell phone at home as often as possible. Or at least turn it off when I am not at home or work. How did we become so dependent on these things? It is no wonder we have so many ADHD people. "I want it and I want it now!", even if it is to talk to someone. Crazy.

Lazy Saturday

The day got off to a slow start.

After lunch, Junior stopped in and said he wanted to go fishing. We packed up the car and went to the Montour Preserve. We fished there for about an hour and caught nothing.

Then we headed through Turbotville and followed the road leaving town to the river. Somewhere between Montgomery and Dewart we found a path that led down to the river. It was also near an old railroad bridge.

Jerry and I swam out to the railroad bridge piers and fished in some deep holes. We could see some big fish, but didn't catch any monsters. We did catch a few keeper sized, although we didn't keep them.

We fished until 6:30. We cleaned up quick at the apartment and went to Bonanza for dinner.

Now, I can eat a lot. So can Jerry. (I'm fat and he is a growing boy/young man). But Junior put us both to shame. He ate four full plates from the buffet and two 10oz. steaks. He skipped the french fries, but did eat the baked potato. What a monster appetite!

Whale Talk

I have always been a fan of "Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes" by Chris Crutcher. Whale Talk has a far stronger emotional punch. I cannot recall the last time I read a book that had me in tears as I finished reading it. I often look for the characters I identify with when I read a book. In Whale Talk, I also found myself identifying my real students with the characters in the book.

Maybe my view on this book is skewed by my own life circumstance. I will say it is the best book I have read this year. Cheers to Chris Crutcher.

HALO or MySpace

Seeking to find a higher level of geekiness, my kid and I MySpaced each other while sitting in the same room. Nerds!

But is it much different than playing head-to-head HALO with two xboxs?

We may not have been shooting guns at each other, but we were taking shots at each other. And the audience is bigger. If you keep everything in the 'comments', other people can follow along or get involved in the battle of words and wit.

Still, the effects are better on HALO and the soundtrack is better.

Order of the Pheonix

Went to see Harry with Jerry and his girl, Ms. Hedder, and Ang. We saw it at the Campus Theater in Lewisburg and it was a good crowd. Applause at the end of the movie.

The movie was well done. Being the largest of the novels, I didn't expect that it would have every part of the book in the movie. It didn't. But it may have been the best movie yet for catching the 'feel' of the book. Umbridge's character was very well played. The movie kept a brisk pace. It wasn't as thrill packed as Transformers or Die Hard, but it never lost my interest.

The sets and effects captured the magic of Harry Potter perfectly. The movie transported me to a different world for over two hours and entertained. Well worth the ticket.

Big Red Button

More Games at arcadecabin.com | Cool Generators

Transformers

Wow! Went to see Transformers last night. What a fun movie. A little light on story, the action more than made up for plot problems. The effects - well - this is the best effects movie yet.

I was impressed by the number of big names involved in this movie. Many directors, producers, and writers mention how they loved comics as kids. Apparently many of them also loved the Transformers.

A big screen 'must'. Do not wait for this one to come out on DVD. It won't be near as good on the small screen.

Long Pond

Monday

Todd had to work. Janine took Jerry to Long Pond and they went fishing in the canoe. I didn't get many pictures. I watched Sam.




Once again, Jerry did great with Sammy. Did I mention that Sam is only ten months old? He is a bruiser.

Egg Bros Inc

Todd and I spent most of the day working on a project for one of his friends. There is a wedding for their daughter next week and the family wanted to do something special. The parents wrote lyrics for a song. My brother helped compose the music and the mom, Martha, sang the lyrics. My brother played the guitar and mixed the music. I received lots of pictures and some VHS dubs to make the video. It is the first Egg Bros Inc project outside of the family.

Downside. It took all day and part of the night.

Upside. We know it was a success. Martha was crying after she watched the video. I'm so proud of our project. Todd and I work well together.

I might get eatin' by a bear

Jerry spent his evenings worrying about getting eatin by a bear or other creatures.