And Now, A Follow Up To Brawdo

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmemes

I've been tagged with a Christmas Meme. It's just what I need to get back in the game here.

So here goes:
1. Wrapping or gift bags? When getting gifts I couldn't care less as long as the gift shows thought. Giving I prefer a gift bag (Is a brown paper bag a gift bag?)

2. Real or artificial tree? My family has long been a believer in the "real tree of die" theory. Several years ago, my Father-In-Law gave us a beautiful artificial tree. it looks real and the branches hold our heavy ornaments much better. Never looked back.

3. When do you put up the tree? A week or two before depending on how busy things are. I put it up last weekend this year. It just needs to be decorated it now.

4. When do you take the tree down? Little Christmas.

5. Do you like egg nog? Vile Stuff. Even the fact that it has alcohol in it can't sway me.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Best toys ever
Unfortunately they are a fortune to buy now or I would be getting them again for this Christmas.

7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Two. One under the tree and one on the piano. I also have one up at work just to iritate people.

8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? When I first met my wife and we were living together, My Father-In-Law bought a gold plastic Last Supper with a clock in it. It had to go back.

9. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? Mail

10. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Christmas Carol.

11. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I usually buy something in August and am proud of myself for starting early until I realize that a week before Christmas, It's still the only thing I bought.

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Wine. . .No wait! I make a mean butter cookie.

13. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Colored.

14. Favorite Christmas song? Transiberian's Carol of the Bells and Wizards in Winter.

A Eulogy

Well, I’m Back!

With the holidays and the new job coming up and general hectic time of year, I have not been able to post the Eulogy.

Wyatt was kind enough to post the news of my dog, Kirk’s, passing. Thanks to him and all the blog wishes and cards that I received.

Kirk was a very special dog. He was irreplaceable and probably one of my best friends. That sound stupid to even write but it’s true.

Back in 1996, my daughter Erin and Mrs. Deathlok wanted to get a dog. I wanted nothing to do with it. Of course, I lost that battle. We went to the Cherry Hill Mall (a hotbed of animal breeding) and we looked. I saw a beautiful cream colored Lab. They saw a Dalmatian. I said that they were too hyper and we weren’t getting a Dalmatian. Of course, I lost that battle too.

When we got home we were thinking of names. My daughter, being four at the time, wanted to name him Spotty. . .I won that battle. I suggested Rorschach. . .and lost that battle. My wife’s family has a history of naming their dogs human names (which I hate) so I thought quickly and suggested Kirk (after Vancouver Canuck’s goalie phenom Kirk McLean). And it was done. Kirk (according to his papers, his name is really Kirkus Doggley) was part of the family.

Six Months later, after failing out of Obedience School, I was walking this dog that I was not suppose to have to walk. Erin was on the sidewalk and Kirk and I were in the street. I wanted to show this dog that I was faster than he was and we raced home. A block from the house, Kirk ran between my legs. When the ambulance came to pick me out of the street, a neighbor took Erin and the dog in while I went to get my two broken arms put in a caste.

After all the years (11 ½ of them) Kirk has never gone the bathroom in the house (unless he was sick). His one vice was going into the trash. He could . . . .and would . . .eat anything. He has eaten: 9 raw porkchops, a bag of balloons, a swimcap, half of a lasagna pan of fudge, chicken bones (more than once), a pack of gum (in the pack. . . .it was Teaberry) to name a few things. Cleaning the yard was also a colorful surprise.

No one ever met him that didn’t like him. Even people that don’t like dogs. The guy that DMs our D&D game is afraid of dogs and within two visits was very comfortable with him. They shared diabetes stories.

My family has had many dogs and cats growing up and countless pets. We have had alligators, a veritable plethora of rodents, a venus flytrap, birds, turtles, everything. Kirk will always be with me. With the exception of my cat Mooch, no other animal sticks with me.

Kirk’s ashes will be buried under the tree in the back yard when we get them back.

Good Bye Kirk, I miss you.

(Watching Fireworks on the Pool Deck)

(post op)

Brawndo!

Prepare yourself. I challenge you to watch this and not laugh.

Reaping Good Television

Okay, Heroes and Weeds are all caught up and Battlestar, LOST, and all the January shows (including the new Terminator Show) haven't started yet. So what's a guy to watch?

Well, I'll tell ya. . . .REAPER!!


No No . . . .Wait! . . . .REAPER!


I downloaded the first few episodes from BearShare the other day (along with some BIONIC WOMAN) and put them on my MP3 player. This way, I can watch shows while I am at my son's Karate class or waiting in the parking lot for the bus to bring back my daughter from swim practice.

Friday, I finally watched the pilot episode. I was hysterical. If FAR surpassed the BIONIC WOMAN, which was okay, but not a keeper.

REAPER is the story of a guy who's parents sold his soul to the devil. His soul becomes the devils when he turns 21. The show starts on his 21st birthday. Weird things begin to happen to him and he starts having Hellish visions. Satan explains that he has a job to do for him on Earth. He has to be a bounty hunter for souls that have escaped from Hell. . . ala Ghost Rider. . . .ish. CREEPY!!! How can a premise like that be funny. Well, it is!! Watch this show! Based on the Pilot episode, it's a winner.

It's directed by Kevin Smith and it definitely has a Clerksy/Mallratty feel to it. This clip will give you the highlights to the first show. ENJOY!

Our Generation's Wrong Turn

Wyatt just posted a news recap of the Mall Shooting in Omaha. Read it here. This is a tragedy. Worse, it seems to be an escalating occurrence in this country. Why?

My first question concerning this article is how someone walks around in the mall with a rifle. . . . .A RIFLE!!. . . .and nobody notices. Not exactly a concealed weapon. I don’t know the particulars, so maybe it makes sense. Note: If you see someone carrying a rifle or saw-off shot gun in the mall. . . . RUN!

But, I digress. . . . .

This situation got me thinking. Things are much more publicized now so it is easy to say that things have changed. In fact, there have been people committing suicide for a long long time. I recall, as a child, hearing the occasional report of a teen taking their own life. Taking that into account, It still doesn’t explain the increase in this mindset and the methodology with which it is executed.

So at what point do we reign in our children and realize that OUR generation has fucked up. Things like Outlawing Spanking and treating children like they have equal say in an adult environment is too much pressure. Children are taught that they are entitled to everything and have to work at nothing. So imagine the crushing disappointment to a teen when he/she realizes that the world is tougher than that.

Our generation sends countless emails around talking about how fun being a child was and how in today’s society how dangerous that fun was. Hanging down in the woods or “The Creek” (pronounced CRIK) was awesome but imagining my son doing that with his friends is unthinkable. Now we are going to worry that if our kids go to the mall with friends that they may not come home.

My brother and I were talking about a high school teacher that we both had named Father John Joseph. NOTE: This is not a pro FJJ speech. John Joseph taught Sophomore Algebra. Any indiscretion was dealt with one of the following (piano wire, “Mellow Yellow” the wiffleball bat or the “wraparound” – the curved back part of the chair designed to paddle your entire ass). This was the most horrific example of what was wrong with how we grew up. However, we all dealt with it. My brother is 10 years older that me, which means that at least 10 years of FJJ was unleashed on the school. Algebra scores were through the roof. Nowadays, if you give a student a written assignment as punishment, the parents are up your ass with a law suit. There has to be a middle ground.

Coddling our youth is not the answer.

Recently, I have heard several people that I know use the term, “They deserve it!” when referring to why they are doing something for their children. That has officially become my new pet peeve. Your children do not deserve to go to Disney World any more than some poor hungry kid from Camden deserves to go to Disney World. If you can take them, great. Have a good time. But kids do not deserve to go to a good school. If they work hard at school and get accepted into a good school, then they have earned the right to get into a good school. If you have the money or are willing to put yourself in debt to allow your kids to go to a good school, they are very lucky and should appreciate all that you do for them. Kids deserve to be loved by their parents and to be care for and protected from harm. They deserve their parents support and should be fed, sheltered and given whatever opportunity that can be afforded to them. Other than that, you have to earn your way.

This will give our children a stronger feeling of accomplishment and will HOPEFULLY reduce the amount of incidents like the mall shooting.

BRILLIANT!!

Rumble in . . . God Knows Where. . . . .

A blogging staple on Wyatt’s site show tales of glory and woe in the form of his hockey team . . .Tony’s Place. Last night, I made the long trek from Casa del Deathlok to view this sporting extravaganza.

I left the house at 6:15. . . plenty of time for the 7:00 face-off. . . . .or so I thought. This place was in the middle of nowhere. Around 7:30, I noticed that the cars around me all had snow on them. How far North did I travel??? Well, I was a little surprised not to see my friend Ant at the game, for surely I was in Canada.

Once there, I entered to find two ice rinks. As I entered the first one, I noticed a lack of activity, although there were people on the player’s bench and player’s standing around doing nothing. It must be a practice or something. Then I noticed that all action had not stopped. The action was on the ice with two players punch the shit out of each other. I crossed the hall and joined the other game (already in progress). With the crisp new uniforms and the neatly arranged names on the jerseys, I knew that I was in the wrong place. So, I thought . . .skilled, well uniformed game. . . . .goon hockey. . . . Okay, why did I not know that I had the right game the first time. My only excuse is that I was looking for the “Coach”, Wyatt. He was in the stands with Badgett. I got back in to see Vinnie through out of the game for taking a beating. Blood a plenty. He soon joined us on the bench.

The score was tied at 1-1. The opposing fans were bitching and moaning about the play and the ref and the cafeteria selection, etc. Then the floodgates opened. Soon any shot that was a shot . . .and some that weren’t were falling into the opposing net. If I were coaching, I would have considered replacing the goalie with a parking cone.
After a 10-1 drubbing, Tony’s Place skated off with a decisive win, while Blue Dog. . . . .well they Blew Dog!

Vinnie faired little better at the dome hockey table and split a 1 & 1 deadlock. Fortunately, he did not get thrown out of that game.

They are back in action tonight. Good Luck Guys! Don’t forget your elbow pads.

Enchanted? Oh, Yeah!!!

Last night, Mrs. D and I took my son to see ENCHANTED! Actually, My son and my wife took me to see ENCHANTED! ENCHANTED is the new release from Disney starring. . . . . .AMY ADAMS!
Sure, I'm not real vocal about my like for Amy Adams , but she is some kind of alright.

The movie was very good. It was well put together (like Amy Adams) and we were all laughing at points throughout the movie. Sure, the plot is just a rehash of older Disney flicks, but James Marsden and Amy Adams both played their parts so well that they were almost indistinguishable from their Disney Cartoon Counterparts.

The Entertainment Weekly article says that this movie establishes Amy Adams as a star. Personally, I would think that winning the Oscar for Junebug would have established Amy Adams
as a star.

When this movie comes out on DVD, it may have to go in my "Special" Collection.