All Star Game, Vegas and Whores

Las Vegas hosted the NBA All Star Game.

It brought in $47 non-gambling dollars to the city, but the people that came trashed the place.

It was reported that well over 350 arrests were made and a shooting at the MGM Grand.

Walking the Strip yesterday, you could not help but notice there were people who don't or wouldn't normally come to Sin City. Even I felt out of place, but anyways.

Beyond the usual homeless and hookers (maybe some out-of-town hookers came also) there were tons of gangs. And while everyone kept a tone of respect, it felt things could trip rather easily.

Add on the horrible traffic with people blasting bad music from the rolled down windows, anyone who does not live in a racially mixed city, could be intimidated by these people.

The thing was, since Vegas is close by to LA (from LaVenre, its 235 miles -about 3 1/2 hours away) that many people just came for the festive atmosphere -cause most people cannot afford the tickets to the game. The gangs that came were probably from the LA basin.

But I'm sure while the police will say different, for many owners of the casino's and other stores, the All Star Game was a boom.

But I'm sure it scared regular folks.

Viva Las Vegas and more family stuff

I remember, years ago, a commercial on TV where an actor is pushing some kind of medicine, and he says “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on television.” My guess is, that the image of a “trust-worthy TV actor doctor” was suppose to convince people to buy the product. I, of course, saw through that -as did many writers, as that ad became the joke of many comics.

On Sunday, I went to Las Vegas to see my Older Sister and her husband, who were taking a belated trip to Sin City after the last attempt in April 2006 was cancelled when my Younger Sister’s husband passed.

I went there knowing I would hear all the tales of what has been happening in YS life and her two kids, my niece and nephew. I had known that nephew had been thrown out of the house after flinging -in her direction - a steak knife near niece. Apparently, younger sister had finally decided that nephew -at age 19 - should learn what cause and effect is about (something I have been trying to tell and teach him for years).

Over the years, especially the last five, I was aware of things my sisters two kids were doing. But, this past weekend, when given the final puzzle pieces to certain things, I discovered I knew very little.

Granted, I did shy away from getting too involved with younger sisters kids, as she had made it clear on several occasions that they were her kids and she would dole out the punishment and what not. Fair, to me.

Case in point, my nieces losing here internet privileges. Now, what I thought I known about it turned even uglier this past weekend, when older sister told me the full truth about why niece had lost those privileges and why younger sister tried her hardest to keep dying husband’s family from being alone with him.

What I been told was the truth, but like Obi Wan in Return of the Jedi, it was from a certain point of view. I was told she had done and said some things on her myspace page that had caused her to be banned -nephew reconfigured the home computer with a log-on code that only he and his mother knew. It seems niece -who would’ve been late 13 or early 14 - had posted a nude picture of herself on the net. I tell you, this floored me on Sunday, standing in the middle of the Paris Casino in Las Vegas.

And, older sister informed me, this was why my late brother-in-laws sisters were not allowed to be alone with him during his final weeks on earth. They knew what niece had done, and they wanted to their brother what his daughter had done and what his wife NOT doing about it. Younger sister apparently felt this was info he did not need (and maybe so, but...) And older sister informed me that our brother-in-law died never knowing this. The truth was kept from him, by my younger sister, if only because brother-in-laws family already hated her and felt she was bad for him. And this was the proof they were right.

My little sister lives in a bizarre world where everyone is wrong and she is right. And even if she admits she’s wrong on that rare occasion, she doesn’t care. Since the passing of her husband last April, she has grown more and more odd in her parenting skills and her perspective on life itself.

So, I’m not a physiologist, but I am a Monday Morning Quarterback, so her goes. My younger sister is crazy. I don’t see how she manages to live inside the tiny stage she’s created in her mind. She see’s herself here as the victim. My mom, my brother, my sister, my stepdad, my step siblings, their spouses and me are all wrong about her.

It is we who refuse to move on with our lives, it is her children who are poising the well against her, it is my mothers and older sisters fault that she is in the position she is currently in -need we remind her again, that all of this started 20 plus years ago when she abandoned the family for the older man who said he loved her.

Now, nephew is living with my older brother. And on Sunday, niece was staying at her aunt and uncles house, close to where my brother and his wife live. Apparently, younger sister called my step-sister looking for her daughter (young sis had been out with her boy toy) to take her out to breakfast). Step-sis asked her if she was actually going to spend time with her daughter, or just have breakfast with her, then drop her off at home and head over to boy toy Mike’s house to get their freak on? Apparently, my little sister made some rude comment and told step-sis that K could stay with them, and hung up.

As of today, I think now that both my niece and nephew are at my brothers. The niece is still at home, but we’ll see how long that lasts.

This tale is far from over.

Family Poop

Lets start by saying while she is my little sister and I have to love her, she is so far in the dog house with the family, I'm unsure how to recover from this.

Since her husband passed last April, I assumed my siuster was trying to get her life back together, along with her two kids. But, I've learned, especially after four years that her husband was sick, that my little sister is a liar and not be trusted.

While it was obvious to all that she was stuck in a loveless marriage, for perhaps, the last decade she was married, after her husband was given the cancer notice, she tried her vainest to keep him alive. Now, maybe, I see why. He was her meal ticket (when he worked).

Don't get me wrong, she did work and go to school, but I'm unsure of her grades, as she claims they are good. Now, after the past 10 days, I begin to wonder if my little sister is just not to be trusted.

let me backtrack a bit. About a good 20 years.

Dawn was maybe 19 at the time. She was working for Giant Auto in Hoffman Estates -ironically, my brother had worked for them, and at the same store. There she meet a man about 18 years her senior, who (though I'm still not sure) was seperated from his wife. Kurt (or John as we would eventually know him as) has two kids, just a few years younger than Dawn.

Anyway, my sister began to have an affair with him, something she tried to hide. At this point, I guess, one could say that both my sisters were looking for "daddy" figures in their lives. Having lost our father at such a young age (Dawn was not yet 4), they both seemed to find comfort in men way older than them.

Once everyone found out about Dawn and John, well, all hell broke loose. My mom ruled her house with an iron fist, and she took no shit from no one. She tried her hardest to stop Dawn from seeing this guy, which would, in hindsight, push Dawn farther away.

One thing led to another and Dawn and John moved to New Mexico. During that time, Dawn kept in contact with big sister Donna, so we found out that Dawn had married John after his divorce and was now pregnant. During the months before Steven's birth, things between my Mom and Dawn eased. My mom still hated John, but she loved her daugther.

Steven arrived into the world on September 18, twenty-five years and one day after mine. Donna and mom went to New Mexico. Almost a year later, Dawn and John moved back to Chicago, and with the aide of the baby, things seemed to get better. I still don't think my mom ever trusted John, but she tolerated him, if only because Dawn was back with her grandchild.

They settled in (I moved to California), had another child in September of 1991, Kyra, and things went on, as they are bound to do. I moved back 18 months later.

But there was always tension, and me and my little sister tried to get along. It seems that Dawn and me were never destined to nothing more than brother and sister -the same thing I have with my older brother. Only Donna and I seemed to be more than just siblings. We were best buds also.

So, over the next decade, John and Dawn would give Steven an Kyra everything they wanted, as if John was making up for all the things he never gave his kids from his first marriage (and I often wonder if they ever became jealous of their half brother and sister). But somewhere along the line, both fell out of love with each other. And, I think Dawn realized she was stuck.

And then came the lies, the deception of not paying bills, of letting things slide to the point that I began to question things in my mind. But instead of asking, or some might say prying into her life, I ignorned some obvious things.

And then cancer struck, and the long slide into death for John began, and Dawn's family slowly began to unwind like a broken yoyo; no one was there to tug it back up.

To be continued...

This and That 3

* If Anna Nicole Smith did not die of a drug overdose (and I'm still convinced she did, but...) what killed her?

* Why was I born with this pectus deformity? I realize, God, that there could be worse things in my life, but why? I mean, was I bad in some previous life? The cruel trick also is that You made me gay. That's like adding insult to injury.

* Is Andrew the one for me?

* And if he is, why has he not made the first move (cause you know how much I screw it up when I become the agressor).

Anna Nicole Smith 1967-2007

The death of Anna Nicole Smith's today at the age of 39 surprised me, yet some how I'm not. I will not be shocked, however, that once the inquest is done, it will be determined that she died of some kind of drug overdose -just like her son Daniel did back on September 7, 2006.

In someways, her life was tragic, but because she won the genetic lottery, she was able to hide from it. Which means, I guess, with drugs and booze. Plus, while I think she was smart, I still feel that she was a few tacos short of a combination platter. Which also, in many ways, helped her escape that sad part of fame.

To be honest, I feel since the death of her son 5 months ago, her time here on this mortal plane was limited. Even the birth of a new daughter was never going to replace the son she lost in September.

A drug overdose probably killed her, but like some have said, she really died of a broken heart.

May she find the peace in death that eluded her in life.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows out July, 21

With one announcement, the book industry too a huge sigh of relief, as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be published on July 21, just 8 days after Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix hits movie theaters. And like the last two bboks, this lay down date is a Saturday.

This last book in the series should give a huge boost to the sagging industry, which despite a rich collection of tomes released at the end of September to Christmas 2006, is finding itself facing troubling times.

Of course, the biggest issue remains that the super books stores face tons of competition from other retail outlest like Target, Cosco and even the local grocery store (not to mention Amazon). Plus they over build, in some vain attempt to keep investors investing.

Barnes & Noble is doing better in the stock area, while Borders remains flat and not predicted to gain any strength for at least a year. It's new CEO claims big things are in the works, but from my POV, its working on the wrong things. A new inventory system would be nice, as our DM pointed out to me that when Borders was a hundred stores, it worked. Now at well over 510, it is obsolete and flawed.

Anyway, this last Harry Potter book will help through the end of the year, even though some 7 million copies will be sold the first weekend its out. It will sell well through the fall, drop off and pick up again by Christmas, which will also be the time when Order is out on DVD.

Cha-Ching.

Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe grows up.

One feels a bit dirty old man looking at the 17 year-old in these press photos for his new play Equus. And while some of his fans, well, the parents of these fans really, seem a bit taken aback by these photo's, I think it's good for him.

First, of course, it's a role so opposite of Harry Potter. After playing the role for nearly 8 years and with at least four more to go, a role such as this can prove to be better for his career. While the play still remains as controversial as when it was first put on 35 years ago, in today's internet world -as soon as these press photo's were released, they zipped accross the web like a comet on crack - it opens the door for people not familiar with the story.

I believe this is a bold move for Radcliffe, and hopefully the role will be help his acting career, and not be popular because he'll be nude on stage for a time. But, it can only help. How many top female actors and singers have done nude spreads in Playboy?

Of course, once again, we have to note Radcliffe is 17 (and will turn 18 this July), but I think he has something to prove to people who only see him as Harry Potter -and will continue years after the final credits close on movie seven. He will show them that HP is only one role in what is bound to be a great career that should last decades.

And even this role in Equus, is just that, a role.

More power to him.

On a side note, I'm struck on how Radcliffe must've been forced to shave his chest (and that oh so sexy treasure trail) for the bath sequence on Goblet of Fire (though he kept his pit hair and some stragglers around his nipples). Seems while the actor can go through puberty, but you can't show that on screen.

2007 Oscar predictions

Personally, like the Golden Globes, Letters from Imo Jima, should've been nominated in the Best Foreign Film catagory. However, I'm unsure of the rules, considering this was a Janpanese/American production.

Still, that is why I think Dreamgirls failed to score a Best Picture nod on Tuesday. Still, it will walk away with a few Oscars on February 25.

Here's what I think will happen:

Best Picture:

Should Win: The Queen
Will Win: Babel

Best Actor:

Should win: Forest Whitaker
Will win: Forest Whitaker

Best Actress:

Should Win: Judi Dench
Will win: Helen Mirren

Best Supporting Actor:

Should win: Jackie Earle Haley
Will win: Eddie Murphy

Best Supporting Actress:

Should win: Jennifer Hudson
Will win: Jennifer Hudson

Directing:

Should win: Stephen Frears
Will win: Martin Scorsese (finally)

Foreign Language:

Should win: Pan's Labyrinth
Will win: Pan's Labyrinth

Adapted Screenplay:

Should win: Children of Men
Will win: Children of Men

Original screenplay:

Should win: The Queen
Will win: Babel

Animated Feature:

Should win: Monster House
Will win: Cars

While Cars is by far a better film -in the sense in the way it was made, as its fully CGI, while both Monster House and Happy Feet used the motion capture and then animated around it, I actually beileve Monster House has a better story. Cars storyline was far from original and one done many times over -even in Pixar's own library. Monster House's story was more original and much more funny -and scary. The young actors actually brought more scope to the characters than just their voices using motion capture.

As for Happy Feet, well, while bottom of the barrel CGI is coming left and right, the film was choosen based on how popular it became. Artistically, I feel the film is nothing more than a so-so idea that became a hit in spite of itself.

You Suck by Christopher Moore

I always thought that after Bloodsucking Fiends, author Christopher Moore owed a great deal to Buffy The Vampire Slayer. His hero Jody, turned into a vampire by a bored 800 plus year-old monster, is a sarcastic, tough talking blonde, er, wait, red-head who is not so keen on killing people to survive, despite that fact that Elijah (the old vampire) informs here that they only kill people who are near death. Still, even before that 1995 novel, Moore had been cutting his teeth -with what would become his trademark - crafting genre novels set in the real world -mostly in the city of San Francisco (where the author lives).

Lamb, for me, remains his best work to date.

Anyway, Jody -and now undead former minion Tommy, who Jody has sired - returns in You Suck. The novel follows most of Moore’s now patented formula of relationships between men and women that usually gets screwed up (by the guy), snappy dialogue and a lot of self-referential comments.

Once again, Moore brings back previous characters from Fiends, like the cops Rivera and Cavuto and homeless crazy man The Emperor. And while this is more natural than his previous works, I did find one thing distracting. Its been 12 years since Fiends, yet this novel basically begins the next day. Those self-referential comments about emo boy Jared was not even around when Moore penned the first book in the early 1990's.

There was also a special guest appearance of Charlie Asher, from last years superior Dirty Job. The encounter between Charlie and Jody in You Suck, is the same that appeared in Job (plus, Tommy’s minion, the great Abby Normal, is friends with Lily, who works at Asher’s antique store).

The plot is thin, but that’s not important to the story. The real treasure lies in Moore’s characters, who find being a vampire not what all those stories thought they would be. Jody and Tommy are really just folks -or undead folks - trying to get by. Not so much like the living.

And, perhaps there is Abby, who handles the bulk of the later aspects of the book through her diary. And while at times this expressive style, it does, OMFG, get a little wearisome.

I’ve enjoyed all of Moore’s work, but will always site Lamb as his best, so sometimes my opinion is colored about his later works. But all of tomes are million times better than most humorous genre fiction.

Is there others?

NBC picks-up Heroes; Sci Fi gun-shy on Galactica

In what amounts to a big "wow, that's not a surprise," NBC gave an early pick-up for a second season of Heroes. The only real breakout hit of the 2006-07 TV season, Heroes will return this Monday after a six-week break, with 6 all new episodes. Usually, the networks wait until the spring to announce their pick-ups, but with the show a huge hit in the ratings, plus critic praise, the peacock network felt an early pick-up was right thing to do.

Meanwhile, Sci Fi Channel's David Howe, executive vice president of the cable network, which produces and airs the 1970s series remake, told iFMagazine that the reason why the fate of Battlestar Galactica hasn't been announced yet is because the network is on a time schedule for such decisions, and they usually wait until the deadline to announce it. But either way, he would be "shocked" if the show as not picked up for a fourth season.

While I'm sure the show will return, also, I find the Howe's statement about the network's time schedule amusing. NBC's early renewal of Heroes this month, versus' April or May, confirms that they believe in the show (on the other hand, the network loves Friday Night Lights, but will wait to renew the show; they're holding off until they see the ratings when the show moves to Wednesday). And while Sci Fi may believe in Galactica, it seems rather gun shy to not commit to a new season, cause the show has the critics going bananas. But those ratings seem to still bother them. Which means they are taking a wait-and-see attitude with the shows move to Sunday.

T.R. Knight on Ellen: Washington did call him a faggot

Watched The Ellen DeGeneres Show today, where she had Grey's Anatomy star T.R. Knight as a guest. This is his first one-on-one interview since an early-October incident on the set of his series forced him publically to anounce that he was gay.

Recalling Isaiah Washington's original verbal clash with Patrick Dempsey, Knight says the former "referred to me as a faggot," and loud enough for everyone to overhear. "I could've just let it slide and not said anything," Knight tells DeGeneres during the sit-down, "but it became important," as word spread and the press latched on.

But Washington, on Monday's Golden Globe Award show told Access Hollywood, apparently does not remember that way, telling the entertaimnet show that "There is no way I could do anything so vile" thing as call someone a faggot.

His statement appears to have enraged another co-star, Katherine Heigl, who told AH that Washington's revisting of the incident -and saying the faggot word again- continues to hurt Knight, who was in the same press room at the time. "I'm going to be really honest right now. [Isaiah] needs to just not speak in public. Period," the actress said in an interview that aired Tuesday. "That did not need to be said, I’m not OK with it. Drawing attention to it and saying the word again is just unnecessary."

"Yeah, he denied that he said it," Knight marvels to Ellen. "I don’t know what to say, really, about that."

What shocks me more -beyond Washington's white-washing of the incident -is how ABC and Grey's creator, Shonda Rhimes, have kept quiet about it. As Ellen pointed out today, the word faggot is a hate full word and is used way to often by people who then backpedal by saying it was "in the heat of the moment."

No matter what you're feelings are on about gay people, using such word and then lying you ever used the word, makes you look like an ass. The only thing Washington can do -if ABC will not do a thing -is to publically apologize. I’m not saying he needs to go down to West Hollywood and walk among the gays, but acknowledge that you said the word.

Lying is bad enough, covering it up with more lies makes you a fool and a idiot.

Accountability is all I ask.

The parks closed. The moose at the entrance should've told you.

So, it's been a few days.

Not that I've had anything to say, but today I locked myself out of the bathroom. Yep, really smart of me. I dropped off some kids at the pool, sprayed the room, hit the fan and closed the door. Just before 4, when I was finally going to get on the tred mill, I thought I would open the door, turn off the fan.

It was locked. And all the keys that Bill has, not one opened the door. It took a while, but I finally stuck a screw driver into the jamb. One thing my door knob has that made it open was that if you turn the handle sticks. So you can close it, but it does not click shut.

Well, the click shut thingy was not fully out, so with a screw driver, a little push in and to the right, and the door popped open.

I just had visions of the fan going until Bill got back from Vegas on late Saturday.

Anyway, the weather is suppose to turn nasty this weekend. While 53 degree high on Friday and Saturday is nothing for this Chicago boy, the people on the news are acting like a blizzard is coming. Granted, since they don't get snow -except in the hills and valleys above 3,500 feet, this is their way to make it sound important. It's suppose to snow near Vegas, so hopefully Bill will have no weather troubles coming home.

Continue to use the tred mill, today and yesterday -taking Tuesday off for some odd reason. Weighed myself yesterday morning, after I got up. 181 pounds. Not heavey, I realize, but not where I want to be. Last summer, before I stopped, I had dropped to 175. I'm unsure how much I can lose, before it becomes bad, but at least this year I'm adding vitimans to help with the stuff I sweat out of my body.

The right knee still bothers me, from time to time. I'm gearing up for the insurance in February, so I hope to find out what's up with it in the next few months, along with getting my teeth fixed -which is bound to get very expensive.

Andrew will be in for the HF shoot on 1/21. I'm looking forward to seeing him again. I like him, but I'm unsure what his feelings are, but I think -I think - he likes me. I'm not holding my breath, but I'm thinking Beo wants to play matchmaker.

Old Man fixer upper guy returned today and replaced the garage access door. It's actually nice and should keep the rain out of the garage. I think Bill will like it.

This and That 2

* One week to go before I begin helming The Center Cannot Hold.

* I hate doing laundry, along with washing the bathroom and keeping the kitchen floor clean.

* I'm unsure if Bill has any intention of losing weight and trying to live longer than his 50's.

* I'm making something for dinner; have no idea what it is.

* Did not go on the tred mill today, but will run tomorrow. I promise

* Bought a new matress cover. Cost me $40. I could've gone cheaper, but why do I have to do that all the time?

* Nothing more.

Here comes the rain

It's raining.

Of course, anytime it does rain in SoCal, it's a big event. Stormwatch and all. I laugh at how intense things get here when just a little rain -like tonights - gets everyone going. I realize, growing up in the midwest, a light, rainy night is usually shrugged off as no big deal. Here, it's like the world is coming to an end.

But I'll take all the weather maps, computers in motion and what not, because there is no snow and its warm.

Spent 30 minutes on the tred mill. Man, months ago when I was on the tred almost everyday, I could do an hour or more. I so sore and tired. But it does make me feel good.

So I got that going for me!

Pat Roberston's 2007 predictions. Miss Cleo would be jealous

Pat Robertson continues to be the new Miss Cleo of the 2000s. The Evangelical broadcaster shared his annual New Years Nostrodamas “God Talked to Me” broadcast on Tuesday by saying that the Good Lord has passed onto him some inside info about a terrorist attack on the United States that would cause a "mass killing" late in 2007.

Got to say, this is pretty nonspecific.

You would think God - who knows the future, the past and what really happened to Brittany Spears on New Years Eve -would give us a date. If “millions of people will be affected by the attack”, why all the cloak and dagger? If you have inside information, and you are going to give it to someone like Robertson, can’t you say when, instead of some vague “after September” time frame?

All this sort of makes Pat Robertson look like a snake oil salesman. And the scary part is, people believe him.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Robertson played the fabled Miss Cleo. A year ago, the guy claimed God “punished then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with a stroke for ceding Israeli-controlled land to the Palestinians.”

Of course there’s no proof of that, but if Robertson said, it must be true.

In January of 2005, Robertson said that George Bush would have victory after victory in his second term, would elect many conservative judges and have his Social Security plan approved.
Well, Bush is a conservative President, and its not a big stretch to assume he would elect conservative judges to the Supreme Court. So, that was a pretty safe bet when made that one, you think?

And I think the Social Security thing is “stalled” and it obvious Robertson missed the huge defeat Bush got in November. Of course that was 2006 and not 2005. Natch.

Robertson claims he has a pretty good track record, even though the tsunami he claimed would hit the US in 2006 did not happen, but he says all the heavy rains and flooding in up the North East was “partly fulfilling” of his predictions.

Again, all of this is so very nonspecific.

But when you make things up, this is what you get.

This and that

Another day at Borders. Ho hum. One good thing, though, due to the raise in minimum wage that started yesterday, Jeff gave me a bumo up in my hourly wage. Apparently, however, Patricia asked him why. I mean, I already make a more than the supervisors, and probably close to what managers make (and way below GM's), so I can see her questioning it. But, I think in the short time Jeff has been at the store, he knows I am worth the money.

Plus, I was employee of the month, got that recognition award of $25 gift card and lunch, eventually, with Jeff. So that is nice. I also realized I have 80 hours of vacation time coming to me and 42 hours of personal/sick time. I don't think I'll earn any more vac. time until I take some, so long weekends are probably in the works.

So, once I get our monthly $30 gift card, I can buy things. The question is what? If I buy any more books, well, I only read 16 1/2 in 2006 and I have more than 3 dozen I have yet to read. Buying DVD's at work is silly, considering that I can get them cheaper elsewhere.

Maybe some music. I'm way behind in that, but that's not so bad. But still have yet to Marc's Best of 2006. I'll give it until the end of the week, 'cause of the hoilday and President Ford's death have screwed up shipping.

I went jogging today, for about 1/2 hour. After 4 months, it was not so bad. But, I'm not going to over do it. I hope to drop a few pounds by April, and maybe lose enough around the waist to get back into 32" pants size.

On days Bill is home, I'll drag my ass across the street to the parks track. When he is working, I'll use the tread mill.

I need to keep this up.

Rose Parade before the parade

So, Beo called about 6:30 last night, and asked if I doing anything for New Years. I had no plans, as I pointed out on yesterdays blog. He said come on over, Adam and JT were there, we have some drinks, maybe a movie and then go to downtown Pasadena and see the floats for big parade on Monday morning.

Well, I knew I could not miss this. So, I got there around 7:30, talked to Adam about Voyager again, was told cutie pie Tim was coming later. Anyways, we had some drinks, talked about HF -can't seem NOT to talk about it - called Andrew and wished him a happy New Year.

After Tim arrived, we jumped in JT's car, though Rob drove. We found parking and walked to the place where the floats were being staged. We walked around, welcomed in the new year, and saw all thouse lovely floats. It was cool, though not unpleasant. I still wore my flip flops, as they are the only things I wear when I'm not working.

I just love this weather.

Left a message for Marc, but seeing it was after two in Chicago and was unsure he was still up -he was last year when he called after midnight here. Poor Brad was drunk then.

Anyways, it was a great night, and I almost wished Mom was here, as she would've loved to see all those floats up close.

Got home at 2:10, in bed three-minutes later and was awake at 6:30. So I'm tired and was planning to start jogging today, but I'll put that off until tomorrow.

But it WILL happen. I just look at the guy above and know if I want anything close to that, well, I'm going to have to do (as there is no try, according to Yoda).

Happy New Year.

End of 2006 and the books I read

New Years Eve.

Those pesky resolutions.

Drunks driving on the road -despite the laws.

Anyways, working tomorrow, so no late night for me. Might be in bed before the witching hour.

But, I will get back to jogging. I have too.

01. State of Fear -Michael Crighton
02. Cell -Stephen King
03. Great Influenza - John M. Barry
04. A Dirty Job -Christopher Moore
05. Angels & Demons -Dan Brown
06.The Da Vinci Code -Dan Brown
07. Bad Twin -Gary Troup
08. Map of Bones -James Rollins
09. Icon
10. Valley of the Dolls -Jacqueline Susann
11. Mayflower -Nathaniel Philbrick
12. Gil’s All fright Diner - A. Lee Martinez
13. Shadowmarch -Tad Williams
14. Lisey’s Story -Stephen King
15. Pirates In an Adventure with Communists -Gideon De Foe
16. The Innocent Man -John Grisham


Happy New Year!!!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

T'was the Night Before Christmas -Clemet Moore

T'was the night before Christmas,

when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, --not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name; "Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN! On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONDER and BLITZEN!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT."