Barnes and Ignoble

Just learned that Borders will be closing its giant eyesore in DeKalb. Now I'll never have the chance to get hosed by their back ass-wards rewards program.

"ass-wards" was a word and had a hyphen in my spellcheck.

Who knew?

Hog-vision

Busy ass weekend ....let's see what's worth remembering

Recorded new version of pcv song in Elgin. It passed the Kim test so I think I made the right decision. Kim is pretty picky when it comes to shit I do. Not that I ever seek her approval but when she gives a damn enough to give it, then I think the work was worth it.

What?

Back late from Elgin and welcomed my a turkey dinner and a glass of whiskey. Life is good and I am a lucky man.

No school for Alex on Friday. Al and Judi watched him for the day and let him sleep over. My mission - drive him out to the South Side early and then get my ass to work. Done and done. Got through 3/4 of the things I needed to Friday. Stayed late but still not enough time in the day to get everything done.

Well, there's always Tuesday

Got out of work late, met up with Kim and we saw the King's Speech. George VI's life is as different from mine as possible, but I was touched by this story. For a king to receive speech training from a....

Oh, wait, I'm gonna shut up so as not to ruin anything for anyone.

Last game of the Pistons' season, they lost but learned a lot this year. Thanks and much love to Coach D.

Ice Hog Hockey Saturday nite and we had a blast with our friends John and Janine. Thanks to Julie R for getting the boy's name on the big board. Our crew was on the jumbo-tron (or is it Hog-vision) at least twice. I was drinking both times...but on the plus side, you could only see my bald spot the second time the camera was on us.

Who knew we were in the Jack Nickelson/Lou Adler seats at the Rockford Metro Center?

Sunday I had a terrible headache. I think I'll blame it on the bright lights and pressure of being on Hog-vision twice.

Monday Kim, Alex and I drove to Starved Rock and saw the eagles. The boy and I were more skeptical than mom. She said, "I called ahead and there are definitely five eagles still there for the winter."

I thought to my self 'Who did she call? Their agent?'

But we saw two eagles against the island rising above the lock. We saw one flying almost as soon as we got to the observation deck. There was a second eagle perched the entire time. Kim found that eagle with Alex's binoculars. Then she helped a bunch of other people see them. The birds were magnificent...

...even the lazy-ass one that was still perched in the same damned spot when we left.

Rue the Day

I learned this week that people love Rue McClanahan and not everyone appreciates the story I heard about her arrival in NY Presbyterian after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that I no longer work in academia and one must act accordingly when living and working among the decent.

Wall Street, Main Street and Sesame Street

The House budget proposal says NO to corporate bailouts...

Take that Corporation for Public Broadcasting!

Looks like Prairie Dawn is going to have to start turning tricks on Sesame Street...and I can't wait to see Jim Lehrer unleash an Albert Finneyesque rant on his nightly broadcast.

I know there is a lot of posturing on both sides. Budget proposals and counter proposals are ways for folks to jab each other in Washington. It pisses me off a little that the Newshour (one of the only things I love on tv) may be affected by this, but what are you going to do?

I was a cynical piece of shit before this went down, and no line in a proposed budget can change that.

Go Washington douchebags! Go and make spectacles of yourselves...at least I'll have something to watch.

I just hope I won't have to watch it on MSNBC, FOX or CNN.

yuck

Never Left His Side

Alex was up late Thursday, or actually early Friday morning sick with too much unwanted action in his belly. Poor guy.

When I left for work Cookie was nestled with the Boss. When I came home at 6:30pm she was in virtually the same spot. According to Kim, Alex's faithful dog never left his side.

Reelin in Two Weeks

Good practice on Wed and much fun was had - especially when we busted out the Steely Dan...

NOT THAT YOU SICK BASTARDS!

Well, maybe a little of that. We are determined to learn and proceed to butcher Reelin in the Years by our next practice. Why? Because it is fun to work on something new and we don't have enough time or the kind of structured time to work on our own stuff.

Dang it

But the point is we are having fun together.

Managed to see Alex work hard at hoops practice before I proudly rolled out to Sugar Grove with the Old Dog in his Subaru.

Classy.

Off the Mound

Jake Peavy, in a telephone interview yesterday said he is already throwing off the mound in preparation for the upcoming season.

THAT BETTER BE A EUPHEMISM FOR SOME INAPPROPRIATE MAJOR LEAGUE SCUMBAGGERY AND HIS ASS BETTER NOT BE PITCHING OFF THE ACTUAL MOUND SO CLOSE TO AN INJURY THAT LED THE HURLER'S SHOULDER TO TEAR ITSELF AWAY FROM THE REST OF HIS STUPID BODY!

I know the SOX have the potential to be a lot of fun with a lineup that is already being projected to score the most runs in baseball (according to the beta PECOTA predictions for 2011) - but they will be less fun if Peavy rushes to come back too quickly and blows himself up again all over someone's ball yard.

ewww, that was unnecessarily gross

In completely unrelated madness - - if Bush goes to Europe, gets arrested and is detained with wikileakes founder Julian Assange, the conversation might go a little something like this...

gBush: "Hey, yer the wikileaks guy right? You like 'em two at a time, I like 'em drunk *heh heh heh*"
JA: "That's a lie...well, the part about me anyway."
gBush: "So why don't you bust out a laptop or something and hack our way outta here Poindexter?"
JA: "It doesn't work like that."
gBush: "Well, can ya get us some weird Euro-porn?"

Good luck boys, you're gonna need it.

National Anathema

Poor Christina Aguilera's been taking it in the keister over fucking up the National Anthem at yesterday's Super Bowl. I'm listening to it right now. It's not so bad, in fact I might go so far as to say that in these troubled times, this is the anthem our nation deserves.

We all know we are supposed to proudly hail the twilight and watch shit gleaming all over the ramparts, but give the little lady a break. She looked to be four or five appletinis into her pre-game preparation so let's proudly hail the fact she could even stand around the ramparts, let alone be able to watch the gallant streaming over and know what she was looking at.

Wha?

I think I just went Jim Gray. That's worse than fading to black...that's like fading to unintelligible.

The point is maybe until we can all do better as people and as a nation, we should sit back, strap it down and try to make due with the vocal meanderings of these bleached out and burned out sorry-assed harpies before the whole shithouse comes down around our ears.

And say...
That star-spangled banner
Yet waves
O'er the shit that we watched
On Super Bowl Sun-DAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!
oooh yeah

sorry America

Pack It Away

This Sunday I watched the Puppy Bowl for the first time and it was outstanding. It took me some time to find Animal Planet cuz I don't watch much tv outside of knuckleheaded sports and even more knuckleheaded news...but once I found the station I was glad I did. Whoever came up with those carpet cleaning commercials in the middle of the Puppy Bowl (and the camera in the actual water bowl for the puppies) is a genius.

I will assume the same person came up with both ideas as both ideas are equally brilliant.

Fun day - early church, Alex went sledding with his pals, Puppy Bowl, Super Bowl and in between we ate too damned much.

But that's what the puppies would want us to do.

Congrats to the Packers and their fans. Thrilling game even though I didn't have a dog in this fight.

Sorry Michael Vick

Sorry puppies at the Puppy Bowl

Balancing

Fun, and strangely productive week for me.

Looks like, the way family, bD and random other scheduling things work out, I'll be able to do demos for the new songs every other week. Went out to Elgin last night and recorded TAHBD, One Good Turn, Rolling, IWBFE and did a new edit on the Prison City Verses thing.

Ok, some of these songs ain't so new and a few have titles longer than their actual duration but it's not like anyone is listening so who cares?

Alex finished drying and putting away his part of the laundry by the time I got back. Proud of the boy...

What else...?

Loved having the extra time with Alex and KJ at home this week. The boy did some work on his Lewis and Clark report and the whole family took some time to play games together. NCIS the game, we make a pretty good mystery solving family. I'm just glad the murderer wasn't one of us. That turns family board game time into scary-disturbing time.

Who needs that on a snow day?

I'm sort of interested in the Superbowl. Never been a Steelers guy, and I like the way the Packers built their version of the 3-4. I know that defense is sort of the Steelers' baby, but what care I?

Go pack.

And that's about as excited as I can get for that stuff.

Last Tangle in Paris

Maria Schneider died today after a long illness. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, those who want to say goodbye properly should send a bush.

White Out!

...and in related news, Larry Bird should be fired as the general manager of the Indiana Pacers. Their roster is as awful as the former Celtic's face.